Young Justice & Ladybug: Dawn of Heroes
by Mixedfan8643
Summary: Ladybug and Cat Noir have teamed up with Batman and Wonder Woman. Now they get to team up with Young Justice as they chase the Light over to Paris, knowing they have some sinister scheme in mind. What do the Light want with Paris? Whatever it is, it maybe too much for Ladybug, Cat Noir and the team to handle. Maybe its time for more Miraculous to see use in the city of Paris...
1. Prologue

**First Ladybug and Cat Noir met Batman, then they met Wonder Woman. And now they're back in an all new crossover as they get to not only meet a DC superhero...they get to meet a DC superhero TEAM! That's right, our Parisian heroes are here again in an all new adventure as they team up with the very superhero team that had a show that was cancelled and then came back, the Young Justice! :D**

**Me and my co-writer, Reece Wooldridge, couldn't be more excited to bring you this story with Ladybug and Young Justice together as they take on the Light and try to put a stop to their latest scheme. So what will happen and will the story reach the heights of its predecessors? Only one way to find out. Read on and we hope you enjoy this brand new crossover epic! :D**

_Prologue: Infiltration _

It looked like another easy day for the Bialyan workers. But as anyone on Queen Bee's payroll knew, just because it seemed like an easy day, it didn't mean it was going to stay that way. Many years of fighting against their queen's enemies had taught them as such.

The compound they occupied was alive with activity. After it had been set up, everybody who worked there had wasted no time in getting it running efficiently. There were bases for the workers and soldiers to sleep at night, storage warehouses for their weapons and vehicles and, naturally, a prison complex to house any of their unwilling captives. The buildings were huge, showing to anybody who happened to see the compound that this was a place that could house an entire army. Soldiers were patrolling everywhere, observing every inch of the area with guns in their hands, spotlights swept over the compound to illuminate every darkened area for any sign of trespassers and jeeps and trucks purred as they drove around carrying whatever loads they had, their tyres making loud crunching sounds on the gravel. It seemed appropriate that the compound be set up here for it was quite close to where Wonder Woman had saved some captive women a while back.

These men weren't just goons for Queen Bee, the vile ruler of the country of Bialya. They were also traffickers, the lowest of scum that loved to make money from the abduction and trading of other people, be they young, old, male or female. They had gotten their hands on some children a few weeks after the compound had been set-up and they had locked them all up in the prison complex. There was no way out of the building except through the door, which was always locked tight and had two guards standing on either side to make sure it wasn't possible to get anywhere near. The guards were given the order of "shoot to kill" and would do so if anyone even remotely suspicious dared to come close. They would ask about who that person was afterwards. Queen Bee wasn't taking any chances, not when the Justice League could be planning to foil her operations any moment from now. She'd even made it clear that if the compound was seized by the heroes of the world, there'd be severe punishments all around for her workers. Nobody dared to disappoint her.

And so far, it looked as if there would be no punishments going round tonight. Everything was still in order, the children were nicely contained until it was time to sell them off and they hadn't had an intruder in all the time that had passed since they'd set the whole place up. Maybe for once, they would carry out their operations without superhero interference. It was a little boring for the guards who had so far had nothing to shoot at but they could see the bright side of this: if there were no intruders, there was no risk of failing their queen. They still kept their guns in hand and kept a close watch, knowing that anything could change at the snap of someone's fingers.

And unknown to everyone in the compound, everything was about to fall apart for them.

Despite the searchlights being set-up, they couldn't see everything they shone over. That was just as well for the lone purple-clad figure that had chosen to hide inside a deep hole in the side of a nearby cliff to spy on the compound. The figure had seen everything through a pair of hi-tech binoculars that looked more like something out of science-fiction than any reality. She smiled to herself, once again grateful for the genius of her leader for inventing them. The binoculars not only allowed her to see far away with very clear vision, but she could also take photographs, zoom in very close to see the very tiniest details and also came with heat and night visions so even the dark didn't make things any harder for her to see. The woman was dressed in a purple bodysuit with matching hood and cape, black gloves, black boots and her face was concealed by a mask that left only her eyes visible. She lowered the binoculars and put a finger to her ear, switching on the commlink she wore there.

"Spoiler to Robin, I've finished observing the whole compound." the woman said, "Your binoculars worked like a charm. I could see anything and everything despite my being miles away."

"Roger that Spoiler." came the reply of her team-leader, "Glad they worked for you. So what are our chances?"

"It's gonna be risky breaking in." Spoiler confirmed. "The Bialyans have made sure they've covered every area. Men on patrol, spotlights shining everywhere, roaming trucks. It's lucky for us we have Miss Martian, Impulse and Superboy with us otherwise we'd have NO chance getting in!"

"We still have to take this carefully. I don't wanna risk anyone's life out there, especially the children." Robin murmured, "We'll still take the stealthy approach and if all else fails, we'll go all out. Meet up with us as soon as you can Spoiler."

"I'll be there." Spoiler confirmed, "Over and out."

It didn't take long for the purple clad girl to rendezvous with her friends, meeting with her leader by the river at the bottom of the cliff. If one were to look closely, a visible outline of a ship of sorts was behind Robin, who wore exactly what one thought he would: red top, green sleeves and gloves, black leggings and a domino mask. He looked quite young, about late teens with neatly combed hair. He gave her a smile, pleased she made it back safely.

"Glad you got back in one piece, Spoiler." he said gratefully, taking her hands into his in a brief moment of joy. She patted her boyfriend's arm, giving him a wink behind her mask.

"Don't you worry, this is almost as easy as slipping in and out of Gotham's alleyways! Just more fun." she said as she then pulled up a pad that produced a holographic layout of the compound as two others joined them. One was a beefy looking teenager who wore a black t-shirt with the Superman symbol on his chest and greyish combat trousers and boots. The other was a slim looking kid with long brown hair, goggles and wore a cream like spandex suit with a red lightning trail on his torso.

"Heavily fortified, which means there's a lot of guns. Not up for a load of bullets tearing through my t-shirt again." the boy with the Superman symbol said.

"No, but M'gann would be up for it, Conner." the boy in spandex said, giving him a nudge. The buff boy, Conner, glared at him with a blush.

"Oh shut it, Bart, this is no place for jokes." Conner told him in a quiet tone.

"You don't have to worry about spending money on another t-shirt tonight, Superboy, already got it planned out in my head." Robin assured him as Spoiler counted up the vehicles for him.

"There's about fifteen trucks and one cargo van. Should be enough to get them dismantled in a short amount of time." she told him, looking at Bart in a knowing manner. He stood straight with a big grin.

"Tell me when to go on, I'm itching for it!" he said, eager to run in there. Robin turned to him with a relaxing smile.

"I can tell you are, Impulse, but do you think you can wait for a few minutes? My plan is different than sending you in first" he told the young kid, who then pouted.

"Knew you'd ruin the fun." he muttered as Robin then pressed an earpiece.

"Aqualad, I know your second in command, but can you stay at the river on standby in case a few stragglers try to make a run for it?" he asked. Some static was heard before he got a response, the voice wise and mature despite sounding young.

"Copy that. I'll make the best use of a surprise if they try to leave." said the voice, before a figure dropped out from the ship, a black teenager with short blonde hair, a red vest and blue leggings came towards them.

"I just hope your on the spot plan doesn't get us into trouble. We can't afford to lose anyone on this mission, friends, enemy, or hostages." Aqualad reminded Robin, who nodded.

"I understand. M'gann is mentally linked to us, so I'm sure she knows what my plan is" he assured, before looking up at the invisible ship with a sharp smile, already feeling the positive outcome of the mission.

* * *

A few minutes later, safe from the searchlights thanks to the technology of the Bioship, the group found themselves flying above the main building of the compound. A circular exit was formed at the bottom of the ship, with Robin, Spoiler, and Superboy standing right near it. They looked up to see the pilot, a green skinned girl with brown like orange hair, a white shirt, blue cloak, skirt and Red Cross, giving them a nervous look.

"Please try not to get anyone too badly hurt. Sometimes these on the spot plans can get too reckless." she pointed out to Robin.

"Don't doubt him, M'gann, we've not lost a mission before thanks to him and Aqualad" Spoiler assured her before taking hold of Robin's hand, giving him a look filled with warmth.

"Ready?" she asked, getting a nod from him.

"Ready." he replied, his eyes full of charm that almost melted her.

With that, he, her and Superboy leapt out of the ship and landed on the roof, with the Bioship taking off to a higher level to keep itself at a safe distance. Crouching low, the Superheroes looked at their surroundings and the eager eyes of Robin spotted a terminal, making him grin.

"Just as I guessed." he said pleasantly, running over there and pulling out a small pad from his belt, putting a plug into a port of the terminal. Superboy, however, gripped his shoulder.

"Before you do anything, let me just give the building a scan, see if there's any heavy hitters in here we might have to deal with." he said sharply, getting a nod from his leader.

"Sorry, just love it when it comes to hacking these." he chuckled.

Superboy smirked as he then stood in the middle of the roof and looked down, his eyes glowing blue as he looked through the building with his unique vision. What he lacked in heat, he made up for in x-rays. He so far just found what he guessed, soldiers walking around with guns, some carrying crates of weapons, others standing around and joking with the traffickers. But it was then something caught his eyes, something that made him groan in frustration at the sight of the disgusting man with pale skin, his brain exposed and his eyes full of cruelty and smugness as he sat at his computer.

"M'gann, are you seeing this?" he asked within his thoughts, still mentally linked to her.

"Yeah, I see him. Psimon" came the bitter reply, before she stretched out her voice, "Robin, when you cut the power, keep your mind clear, Psimon is in there. Don't let him find you." M'gann told the hacker, who sighed.

"That's great, gonna have a headache after I do this hack." he grumbled, only for Stephanie to giggle.

"Just think of pies, doughnuts and cakes, that'll confuse the creep!" she pointed out, making him smirk at his girlfriend's goofy outlook.

He then worked his fingers away.

"Okay, hooked up and looking in. Let's see, food storage, not interested in that...porn room? Ugh...oh, here we go. Do I want the power off? Thank you, I gladly will." Robin said, as if he was talking to the terminal like it was a person. With one hard push, he created the enduring chaos for those committing these crimes.

Lights went off, the skies were no longer lit up, and the buildings now looked empty with near to no activity. The whole compound had simply been plunged into darkness. Within his office, Psimon looked up from his computer, alarmed at the sudden darkness. He gritted his teeth, standing up and outstretching his mind.

"What is this? Why have they gone out? Urgh, so much confusion, can't lock onto anything!" he growled, hearing the confused cries of everyone around him, not knowing he was being watched from within the plane of the mental world by M'gann, who saw him like he was stuck in a cloud.

"Looks like he's a little lost in all the thoughts of his friends. Impulse is good to go." M'gann said brightly.

"Finally!" Impulse replied mentally, standing tall from the bottom of the cliffs.

"A load of tyres are gonna be put out of use!" he declared as he then sped towards the compound at great speed.

Of course, Robin had had a contingency ready for when the lights went out so Impulse would have no trouble navigating in the dark. His goggles switched to night vision, turning the blackened compound into a mixture of greens as if he'd stepped into the Matrix instead of an army compound. He could run at top speeds and still see where he was going, something that gave him an advantage over the Bialyan workers and soldiers. The world became a blur to him as he ran, a feeling that he was sure all speedsters felt when they went this fast. He was inside the compound within seconds and, just as he'd been instructed, he raced around every single vehicle from the jeeps to the trucks and also the cargo van and burst all four tyres on everyone of them. None of them had been moving at the time, or at least it looked like they hadn't to Impulse as he'd been running so fast he was sure time had stopped around him, so there were no accidents as a result of this. After the speedy boy had finished, he laughed to himself as he heard the Bialyans shouting and cursing angrily in their native language as they realized their tyres had gone flat, their vehicles now useless to them.

"Dunno what they're saying, but I bet it's nasty!" he sniggered, "Hey team leader, we're all crash here! Tyres are out on the trucks!"

"Great work Impulse!" Robin cried enthusiastically, glad to see everything was going according to plan, "Now we have confusion and surprise on our side, we can get the hostages out!"

"Preferably before they get the lights back on." Impulse noted.

"Don't worry about that, I've made sure the power's gonna stay off for quite a while." the tech-wiz replied.

Impulse only smiled with amazement. That Robin never ceased to amaze him with his technical skills. He had to wonder if he'd be the next Batman once his time was up.

"Miss Martian, you go to the prison area and sneak inside." Robin ordered, "You'll be the best way of getting us in without drawing too much attention."

"You got it Robin." the green-skinned woman replied.

She was already invisible so she had no chances of being seen by anybody, even if the lights were still on. As she descended from the bio-ship, she landed on the roof of the prison complex and carried on going straight through it. Once again, she counted her blessings that intangibility was among her species' many great abilities. She was now inside the building, still descending slowly as she reached the floor. Miss Martian touched down and quickly ran her eyes over the area. The prison complex was a large building with no features of any kind. No windows to see out of, no beds to sleep on, nothing, just four blank walls and one blank ceiling with a two large doors tightly locked shut. She tried not to gag as the foul stench of human waste reached her nostrils. These monsters couldn't even bother to install a toilet for these poor kids?! What was wrong with them?! She daren't imagine how long they'd been left there to simply soil themselves like this. Miss Martian looked over and saw the kidnapped kids, her heart aching at the sight of their horrified faces and dirty clothes. They even looked very thin and pale, suggesting they hadn't been fed properly in all the time they'd been held captive. How could anyone treat children like this? She didn't care if she wasn't a human, she still sympathized with them and hated to see them being treated so cruelly. She noticed they were staring at her, clearly amazed at the sight of this green, caped woman that sunk through the ceiling like some kind of ghost. Thankfully, they didn't seem scared of her, more quietly interested. She smiled reassuringly at them.

"I know I must look weird, being an alien and all." Miss Martian said sheepishly, "But you don't have to worry. I'm part of a superhero team that's here to break you all out. We're gonna get you all home to your moms and dads tonight."

The children's faces lit up with delight. That was just the kind of news they wanted to hear after being locked up this whole time.

"I know, you've been waiting for this but you've gotta keep still and quiet for a minute." Miss Martian said hastily so the children wouldn't make a noise, "I'm gonna unlock the door and then lead you out of here. Wait until I give you the all clear, OK."

The children were eager to get going but they could see what Miss Martian was asking of them and nodded. They didn't move as their extra-terririestrial saviour sneaked over to the door and phased her arms through it. She found the two guards by the door and seized them by the heads. Before they could react, she slammed them both together, knocking them both out instantly. Now they were down, she phased all the way through the door and observed it. It was bolted shut with thick steel bolts that could stop even a dinosaur from breaking in or out. It didn't have any locks, just a keypad suggesting she needed to put in a code in order to make the bolts slide aside to open the door. Using her telepathy, she informed her leader about this.

"The door needs a code to open it. You'll probably hack it in no time." she said.

"You have super strength, M'gann, pretty sure you can phase your hand through and pull the wires." Spoiler responded, cutting in before Robin could reply. Miss Martian smacked her forehead sheepishly.

"Hello Me-no, no time for that, just do it!" she thought to herself, before putting her hand through the keypad and pulled the wires with all her strength. Surely enough, the bolts instantly pulled away and opened the door, giving the prisoners their first taste of freedom. M'gann gestured at them to wait as she then stood back and allowed the Bioship to land in front of the door, it's size morphing to hold the numbers of the prisoners. M'gann smiled at them.

"Don't worry, it's our ship. I'll use it to fly you to safety." she assured them, earning a collective sighs of comfort as they all began to pile onto the ship. M'gann stretched her mind out to inform her team-mates.

"Everyone is getting on board. There's still Psimon you have to worry about, and the soldiers." she warned them as the ship began to fill up.

"Don't worry, I've disarmed a few of the guys, they didn't even see me. I'll run to the nearest military base and tell them about the compound, leave a little note on the boss's desk. Be back in a few seconds!" Impulse replied, before he vanished from the mental link.

M'gann helped get the last two on board, a mother and her infant child, patting them gently as they took a seat on the comfier chairs. It was then a voice rang in her head.

"Boom! The dudes are on their way here, armed and ready to take these creeps to jail!" Impulse declared proudly, making M'gann groan.

"Yup, thanks Impulse, try not to be so loud. Regroup with Robin on the roof." she calmly told him.

"Roger!"

With that done, M'gann closed the doors to the Bioship and phased through to the controls, taking off and turning it invisible again to avoid getting seen. She now had to hope her friends would be okay in cleaning up the rest of the place before the military got there.

On the roof of the other building, Impulse regrouped with Robin, Spoiler, and Superboy.

"Okay, I'm here, what do we do now?" The kid asked excitedly, with Robin holding up a smoke grenade.

"Smoke them out." he said simply, giving Impulse a wink.

Inside his office, Psimon was greeted by the captain of the Bialyan soldiers he was working with, the man looked somewhat nervous to be around the creepy looking man with the exposed brain.

"Sir, our tyres on the vehicles have been punctured! Are we under attack!?" he asked in a state of fear and confusion. Psimon groaned, starting to realise the situation.

"Of course, it's those annoying little rats! Check the prisoners, make sure they're still inside!" he ordered, getting a nod from the Captain, who quickly left the room to give the order, having to do it personally as radios were down due to the loss of the terminal. Psimon looked around, trying to see anything out of place.

"I know you're here, you Martian weakling! Come out and fight!" he said mentally, knowing well M'gann would be in on this, yet he didn't know where she actually was.

It was then several loud bangs were heard, startling Psimon as he turned to see the hallways outside getting filled with smoke.

Out in the hallway, on the bottom floor, the soldiers staggered around, trying to see anything through the thick smoke they found themselves lost in. The only thing they could see, for just a second, was a zip of yellow lightning and heard a few mechanical clicks coming right close to them. They let out cries of confusion, wondering if they got company within the smoke...well, they got their answer when a screaming body of one of their soldiers came flying through the smoke, crashing into one of the others and leaving the two on a heap.

A fist shot out and crashed into one of the soldier's faces, leaving his mouth toothless and dazed from just one one punch, before he was tossed through a wall into the other room. The remaining soldiers, hearing what was going on, instantly took aim at whatever they could see and pulled their triggers...but no bullets were fired. Confused, they looked down to see their guns had been disarmed, leaving them unable to protect themselves from the incoming punches of Superboy, who leapt through the smoke and drove his fists into two soldiers' guts, driving the wind right out of them as he threw them down the hallway, leaving just a few left. Superboy pounded a fist into his hand as he saw it was only two left as the smoke cleared.

"Think carefully, guys. Don't want to knock anymore teeth out if you want to eat anything in jail." he warned.

The soldiers looked nervous for a second, but loyalty came first, for they served their queen until the last second. They cried out and ran at Superboy, throwing a punch at him. He just caught the fist and twisted it down, slamming his face into the soldier's and knocking him out, before kicking the other in the chest hard enough to knock him out and leave him on the floor. Superboy shook his hands to ease the tension.

"There's this floor. Now the next one." he said, as if he was getting started.

On the floor Psimon was on, he listened in as he could hear the soldier's in the hallway getting their butts beaten. He pulled open a draw to find the device he needed to get away, but was too fast about it so the draw was flung out and its contents scattered everywhere. He got on the floor to look for it, not knowing time was against him.

In the hallway, one soldier received a bash on the face from a baton while the other cried in agony as he felt a knee drive into his groin, his eyes like golf balls before he received a smack on the head that knocked him out.

"There's always something fun about a nice, quick kick to the balls on an enemy." Spoiler sneered as the soldier hit the floor.

"Yeah, you can't deny its effectiveness." Robin joked in return.

The super-couple pressed on, knowing that Psimon had to be close by. Their every instincts told them he was on this floor and the closer they got to him, the more cautious they had to be. It was paramount to take extreme care when there was a master-telepath like Psimon to deal with. Superboy was close behind in case they needed the extra muscle to restrain their enemy. They ran down the hallway, noticing an open door at the end. They stopped in their tracks and moved slowly so as not to alert themselves to Psimon in case he was in there. Spoiler went in first, rushing in with her baton in hand. Psimon was still on the floor scrambling for the device he was searching for in the draw and only just realized someone was coming towards him. He saw only a flash of purple before suddenly, he was sent reeling away with his head spinning and a spasm of pain flaring through it. He clutched his transparent cranium, trying to ease the pain enough so he could use his mental powers to subdue this enemy but he wasn't given any time to recover. Robin reacted quickly, seizing his moment to incapacitate the telepath, grabbing hold of his shoulder and sending a terrific electrical surge through his glove onto Psimon. The pale man let out a blood-curdling wail of anguish before he fell into unconsciousness, slumping on the floor like a sack of vegetables. Now the biggest threat to them was down, the team could continue operating as normal with no interference.

"No Simon Says from you." Robin crowed, "Spoiler, Superboy, you see anything useful in here?"

"There's Psimon's computer." Spoiler addressed, seeing the machine and noticing it was still on, "I'll bet there's some juicy information in that thing. Though he was on the floor when I ran in so who knows what he was looking for."

"I think this is it." Superboy added, bending down and picking up the device Psimon had been menaing to get in his mad hurry to escape before the team got to him.

Robin eyed it with interest.

"A teleport device, probably was gonna use it to get himself out before we got our hands on him." he said as he was handed it by Superboy while Spoiler picked up the computer.

"Its wireless, best we download it quick before we lose anything." she pointed out as she put a drive in and began to download the info that was on the machine.

A beep rang in Robin's ear, so he pressed his finger on his ear com.

"This is Robin, what is it?" he asked.

"This is Impulse! I might have super speed and knocking these guys down is like hitting a target at a funfair for me, but some are getting away!" came the fast boy's response. Robin just smiled.

"You don't have to worry, Aqualad is on hand." he assured.

Surely enough, outside, several of the soldiers' and traffickers had managed to escape from Impulse's fast punches and kicks, running for the cliff that would lead them to the river. They were planning on retreating into the desert to call in for their military to pick them up. They didn't realise they weren't gonna get far.

When they reached the bottom of the cliff, they were met by Aqualad, who stood closely to the river as he bore his two aquablades. The soldiers stood there almost frozen with fear at the sight of the half Atlantean as his tattoos glowed, the water stretching up from the river to help solidify his blades. The fear sort of wore off as the soldiers, those that still had bullets in their guns, fired at him.

In response, Aqualad spun his blades in a circular manner, almost at lightning speed as they formed a shield, deflecting the bullets as they bounced off his water shield like rocks being thrown at a brick wall, ripples circulating across his shield. He then slowed down the speed of his spinning, the water creating a circular ball around him. Keeping his arms outstretched like he was on a bike, Aqualad ran on the spot, sending his ball of water rolling towards the soldiers, who gasped in shock at what was coming.

Colliding with them at top speed, Aqualad sent them flying across the ground, the impact from his water ball and hitting the ground knocked them out instantly. It wasn't all of them though, for there were two soldiers left and one trafficker, who pulled out his knife. Bringing his ball down, Aqualad jumped through the air and sliced his blades down on the guns of the two soldiers, slicing them in half. Before the soldiers could respond, Aqualad landed and finished them with a double fisted punch to their faces, sending them crumbling to the ground. The trafficker cried out as he ran at Aqualad with his knife, only for the water powered teen to simply catch his fist, twist it and kick him in the face, sending him flying onto his back, knocking him right out.

Seeing there was no one else to deal with, Aqualad pressed his finger against his ear com.

"The stragglers are down, no more to worry about, Robin." he said, a slight hint of gladness in his low voice. He was then joined by Impulse, who patted his back.

"The water dude strikes again!" he congratulated, getting a small smile from Aqualad.

Up in the building in Psimon's office, Spoiler pulled the drive out of the computer, pocketing it in her belt pouch as Robin got the message from Aqualad.

"Download done and info stacked!" she proudly declared, getting glad smiles from Robin and Superboy.

However, their joy was cut short as Psimon suddenly opened his eyes, pain and anger in them as he realised the loss he just received. He couldn't risk getting captured though, that would be an even bigger loss for his employers. Reaching his hand out, he let his mind get a grip on the heroes. The three teenagers felt their limbs go stiff, their eyes wide as they lost control of movement. Eyeing Superboy, Psimon used his telepathic strength to open the buff teenager's hand, allowing him to walk up to the Superman clone and snatch hold of his device before stepping away from them.

"You might've shut down this compound, but the war is far from over you little rats!" he said angrily, anger in his voice as he then closed Superboy's fist and used it to punch a hole right into the computer, making it blow up and send the three hurling into the walls of the office from the explosion. Robin groaned in pain as his body throbbed, blurilly catching Psimon vanish in a flash of blue after pressing his finger onto his device.

Wincing as he picked himself up, Robin looked around and quickly ran to Spoiler, who was slightly buried under a cabinet. He picked her up, worry in his eyes as her masked ones looked dazedly around her.

"Stephanie, you Okay?" he asked, scared she got a big injury. His girlfriend shook her head before giving him a thumbs up.

"Had worse, just a bump." she assured, her voice full of slight pain as she found her feet, leaning on Robin for help as he gave her a smile.

Superboy was not happy, picking himself up with his teeth bared and his fists clenched.

"That's the latest he's used me! Ugh, when I get my hands on him, he's gonna need a bandage wrapped around that head of his!" he yelled, angry that the pale skinned creep got away. Robin patted his shoulder, giving him an assured look.

"He got away, but we aren't leaving empty handed." he pointed out as Spoiler pulled out the drive she used to download the info from the computer. He sighed, easing his tension.

"Guess it's something" he agreed, though still slightly angry.

Soon enough, the heroes met up outside, with Aqualad and Impulse running up from the cliff to see the finished work they made.

"Let's hope the military has enough handcuffs for these morons." Impulse said, pointing at the piles of unconscious bodies that scattered around them. Aqualad looked at Robin with some concern.

"How badly hurt are you?" he asked, only for Robin to wave it off.

"Nothing too serious, just some bruises and bumps." he said casually as a light shone on them from above, telling them the Bioship was back.

Now the compound had been seized and there was no more resistance, the Bioship no longer needed to stay invisible. It loomed above the heroes like a big red alien vessel observing Earth's occupants and contemplating whether to invade or not. Miss Martian waved down to them, her face full of delight. Nobody was happier to see the Martian girl than Superboy, his anger now gone at the sight of his love as he waved back to her.

"I got all the hostages!" she called down to them, "How'd you guys do down there?"

"We got what we needed!" Robin called back, "We can get outta here and leave the rest to the authorities!"

With that said, the Bioship lowered down to the ground and extended a boarding ladder down to the team so they could climb up into the ship. Once everyone was onboard, the Bioship turned invisible once more and disappeared into the night, leaving no trace of its existence behind. By the time the team had left, they were too far away to hear the oncoming wails of police sirens as the authorities drove into the compound to arrest its occupants...

* * *

The mission had been an almost total success. Bar the escape of Psimon, Robin would've said everything had gone perfectly. He had planned this operation carefully, even going over it several times to make sure he didn't miss even the slightest step that could be vital to the team's success and couldn't be happier the execution had gone so well. For now, his mind had something else to focus on than congratulating himself. He had inserted the drive that Spoiler had used to download info from Psimon's computer into the Bioship's own computer. He was keen to see what secrets they'd swiped from the psychic mercenary, his eyes fixed squarely on the screen as he dug through the data.

As he worked, the rest of the team were putting their focus onto comforting the poor kids they'd released from Bialyan custody. Many of them were still shaken and scared from what had happened to them and couldn't help themselves as they cried. Miss Martian and Spoiler had taken it upon themselves to act as temporary mothers for the kids and gently ease them to sleep, knowing they needed it. It was a sweet sight for the others to watch the girls showing their softer side and showing how good they were with children despite their young ages. Superboy had tried himself, though he wasn't necessarily sure how to properly handle kids as he was still getting used to the world and how life worked. He did his best to keep his patience, something Miss Martian noticed with admiration and she patted his shoulder softly.

"You're trying very well Conner." she said kindly, "You're more like Superman than you think."

Superboy smiled modestly.

"I think being with you brings out that side of me." he admitted.

As Spoiler laid down another sleeping kid, she headed over to her boyfriend to see how he was doing on the Bioship computer. She lowered her mask and hood, knowing she didn't need them now they weren't on a mission, and gave a playful smirk over to Robin.

"Can't keep you away from a computer for more than a minute, can we?" she teased.

"May as well as if you can stop making jokes every five seconds." Robin teased in return.

"Touché." Spoiler chuckled as she leant over Robin's shoulder. Her bright blonde hair hung down over her shoulder and lightly brushed against Robin's cheek.

"Got anything yet?" she asked.

"Just about Steph." Robin replied, "If anything, it gives me an idea on where the Light's next scheme is gonna take place. The data you got has a lot of messages from Queen Bee to Psimon and one of them says something like "Paris is ripe for the picking."

He pointed at the screen, his finger over the message he'd just said. Spoiler noticed, her bright blue eyes narrowed with uncertainty.

"Paris? Why Paris of all places?" she murmured, "Do you think it's something to do with those teenagers that Batman and Wonder Woman have teamed up with lately? Ladybug and Cat Noir, am I right?"

"Possibly." Robin agreed, "The Light would probably be VERY interested with their powers. Batman described the Miraculouses to us and whew, do they sound like powerful items! I hate to think what will happen if Vandal gets his hands on them..."

"That is if the Miraculouses are even the reason they're going to Paris at all." Spoiler noted, "They could be going for any reason, I was just thinking aloud earlier."

"Whatever the reason, we best let Batman know about our find Steph. He'll want to know about this." Robin said grimly.

He still remembered hearing the terrifying story about Batman's showdown at Arkham with a Miraculous-powered Joker. It had taken the combined might of himself, Ladybug and Cat Noir to defeat him despite the great power he wielded. He also shuddered at the image of a Miraculous powered Darkseid, a story that had come from Wonder Woman when she'd informed the Justice League on what she'd been through recently. The last thing they needed was the Light obtaining that kind of power! Robin minimized the data he had been reading for a moment so he could contact Batman through the Bioship. In a couple of minutes, the screen lit up and Batman's highly recognizable silhouette appeared before him, his face filling the screen. He looked as stoic as ever, though Robin could tell he was at least pleased to see him alive and well once more.

"Glad you called." Batman said, "I was about to ask how your mission went. Did everything go according to plan?"

"Exactly so." Robin confirmed, "We got all the kids out of the compound and got our hands on some data that might tell us the Light's next plan."

"And what might that be?"

"It seems they maybe targeting Paris next." Robin explained, "There's messages between Queen Bee and Psimon and they say that "Paris is ripe for the picking" in one of them. Steph and I have a nasty feeling we know why they're interested in that city..."

Batman nodded, his meticulous and well-trained brain coming to the same conclusion.

"Should've known they'd target Paris. With how fractured the place is, from its citizens to its politics, and viewpoints, they're bound to target that. Bring the drive back to me so I can see myself. With everything those people have been through, it's my responsibility to make sure nothing else bothers them." he said grimly, a hint of guilt in his voice as he recalled all the terror and pain those children of Paris were put through.

Robin sensed this though and gave him a firm look.

"Don't go kicking your own ass, Batman. It wasn't your fault. And you ain't looking over these messages on your own, we'll do it together. Can't have you rushing over to Paris on your own without a plan." he told him in a levelled tone, earning a stunned look that turned into a pleasant smile.

"I appreciate it, Robin. In the meantime, take the children to the nearest safety point. I'll be waiting for you. Over and out." he said, turning off his end of the communication link.

Tim removed his mask and leaned back, feeling his body relax as the stress of the mission was finally easing off, though his face literally brightened when Steph sat on his lap, which felt slightly harder the more comfy she got with him. She gave him a teasing look.

"A trip to Paris on the cards? Would've preferred a romantic getaway there instead of another mission." she said, pretending to sound disappointed in what might come next.

He giggled and took her arms into his, with her leaning on top of him as the teasing in their eyes heated up.

"With the time we have on our hands, everyday is a romantic getaway. Just a lot more fun." he told her with a wink as his hands searched through her blonde hair, while she took hold of his cape collar. Pulling him into a kiss, Stephanie moaned pleasantly, not seeing Aqualad sigh in slight frustration as he was briefly distracted before regaining control of the flight.

He himself was full of worry over what their next mission would bring, for going to a city that was greatly damaged from all its previous battles was one he was stressing out over already, and it would require the best of stealth skills as possible.

As they flew on home, they had little idea of what the people of Paris were going to wake up to in a few days...

* * *

And indeed that day had come.

In her bedroom, with the curtains closed and her room's light colours darkened from the lack of light, Marinette Dupain-Cheng gently snored, her arms and legs outstretched under her blanket as her head was well rested on her pillow with her hair stretched out around her. No looks of anguish or fear were on her face, nor was she breathing erratically. She was sleeping like any normal person was, and that was a miracle given what she went through two weeks ago. You wouldn't think this was the same girl who witnessed her bully getting her head blown off, Hawkmoth getting killed, and visiting a hellish planet fighting the most evil person in the universe.

But if there was something she learnt as soon as she gotten back, she couldn't keep being so fearful and upset at what happened. She had to move forward. And the last few weeks had helped in that. School was cancelled for a week because Andre felt it was too soon for the children to go back and put themselves under stress of schoolwork with all they witnessed, and this gave her friends enough time to talk more freely and openly about how they felt, plus they all got to see where Adrien was living now. Kim's sense of humour certainly brightened them when he joked about getting a free massage at Master Fu's, though Juleka and Nino did ask if Adrien started smoking due to the strong sense of it in Master Fu's lately. The two lovers knew the truth, but the best Master Fu could say was that he had a British engineer updating the place and smoked a lot.

Marinette was thankful to have had a talk with Alya in finally talking of her feelings over what happened. She didn't tell her everything, just that she couldn't believe Chloe was gone and how, as much as she hated her, she wished she was still there for every life of every child was worth it. Alya did give her a hug as she tearfully admitted she believed her parents were going to get killed by Joker and admitted her fear of what stress they could be going through. But in all those tears, she had support and moved forward. Her boyfriend was there to take her in his strong arms and listen to everything she couldn't tell anyone else, she had her best friend have her over to play with the rest of her family, and had Juleka and Rose come over to continue their crafting models to take their minds off it all.

That, and her dreams were filled with more pleasant memories of kissing Adrien, the sweetest one of all being on her balcony, where they watched the rising stars in each other's arms with his heartbeat echoing gently in her ears. His eyes were beautiful in the night, and with that smile of his, kissing his lips was like putting her lips in the most sweetest of honey syrup that had a bottomless pit. Seeing him smile, with all the pain starting to vanish from his eyes and face, was like seeing him coming back to life in a way, for she felt like her boyfriend really found his feet again and had regained a grip on reality, something that made her heart flutter.

But like most dreams, they came to an end when instincts kicked in, that daylight had come and was beaming through the tiny opening between her curtains. Moaning slightly, Marinette's eyes blinked open, adjusting to the dark room around her. She didn't sit up and make a run for her clothes, she took it steady and sighed pleasantly, her eyes somewhat dreamy as the memory of kissing Adrien was still fresh on her mind. But as usual, she had someone to greet her as soon as she woke up.

The little Kwami, Tikki, had flown out of her makeshift home and sat herself down on the blanket, giving the bluenette a beaming smile.

"Good morning, Marinette!" she greeted.

"And to you Tikki." Marinette said brightly.

"It's nice to see you looking so well rested for a change." the little Kwami commented with her usual sweet smile and chipper tone.

"Yeah, I've been sleeping a lot better lately, which I'm really glad about." Marinette commented, stretching a little, "It's almost like everything I've been through is nothing more than a memory now."

"Well, technically it is nothing but a memory, but I get what you mean." Tikki replied, "I guess when you've gone up against actual gods and lived, anyone can sleep easy after that."

"You bet, because once you've fought a god, it can't get much worse than that! It's all down from there!" the French girl giggled.

Tikki laughed in response. It was true, she thought, that once you've fought a god, nothing could really top that. She herself had worked with the closest thing to a god, that being Queen Hippolyta of the Amazons, at one point in her 5000 year life so she had seen and met some of those gods and seen what kind of power they wielded. Whatever Ladybug came up against next, it would be far less of a threat than the Apokaliptian dictator they'd recently defeated with Wonder Woman's help. And yet Tikki could only hope that it would be a while before they ever did go up against a world-threatening threat like Darkseid again. Maybe it would never happen again and all threats would be smaller scale from now on, if any should happen at all. Deciding to change the subject, Tikki inquired about something else.

"Did you dream about him again?" she asked, sounding genuinely eager to hear it.

"What else would I dream about?" Marinette scoffed with a smile, "Ever since me and Adrien made it official, he's all I can possibly dream about! And whenever I wake up, I can sigh with relief knowing that it's a dream that is also a reality."

"I'm so happy that you two are together." Tikki said kindly, "You're perfect for each other. You're both kind, compassionate souls who know not to abuse the power you wield. I'd say it's almost like destiny that Master Fu should pass us on to you and Adrien."

"I'd chalk it up to one VERY happy coincidence myself." Marinette joked, "But I guess destiny might play into it too."

"With that in mind, I wonder if the other Miraculouses will ever get handed out." Tikki mused, her large eyes looking away in thought.

Marinette hadn't expected Tikki to suddenly think about that. She still remembered the time she'd found the book that the villainous Gabriel Agreste, aka Hawk Moth, had once had in his possession and how it spoke of other Miraculouses. The powers of Ladybug and Cat Noir weren't all that Master Fu had to offer, though Marinette had yet to see any of them. She still wondered how many there were and what kind of powers they bestowed. Anything was possible with a Miraculous and with the growing threats that Paris had been faced with lately, the blue-haired girl could only wonder if it might be time for more Miraculers to join the fight.

"I guess they might." Marinette said, "Master Fu might deem it the right time to give more people of Paris a Miraculous. I quite like the idea of there being more of us to fight off villains! Hey, can you imagine if we became our very own Justice League?!" she shrieked, excitement buzzing through her veins, "That'd be so awesome, don't you think?! Nobody would dare mess with Paris again if we became one big superhero team!"

"Ha, ha, ha, I like the way you're thinking Marinette!" Tikki giggled, "The question is who would be deserving of a Miraculous outside of you and Adrien?"

"I can already think of a few." the teen heroine murmured, "And I know some that would absolutely love the idea of being a hero. Namely..."

She wasn't able to go into further detail for a voice suddenly called to her from underneath her floor.

"Marinette! Are you awake yet?" came the voice of her mother, Sabine Dupain-Cheng.

Upon hearing the voice, Tikki quickly hid while Marinette swept her legs over the side of the bed.

"Um, yeah mama! I'm up, I'm up!" she called back, "What is it?"

"You should come see the news! Something terrible has happened!" her mother called back.

Marinette's heart turned to ice. What was happening now? Had another Justice League enemy decided to attack Paris? Had Hawk Moth come back from the dead to haunt her? Was Adrien being mugged?! Her head was spinning with so many worrying thoughts as she lowered the ladder and climbed down from her room. She quickly ran into her living room, noticing that her parents were both huddled together on the sofa with their faces twisted into a mask of shock. Marinette thought they looked as if a ghost had crept out of the TV to play pranks on them.

"What's happened?" she asked.

She soon saw her answer as she looked at the TV. Her eyes widened and her mouth hung open as she saw the news headline that was being broadcasted in today's news show...

* * *

Little did Marinette know that her love would soon be seeing the same news story.

In Master Fu's, in his bedroom, Adrien had his head buried in his pillows, sleeping peacefully. It was something he gladly welcomed and was pleased to have, with all the hell he was put through. It was becoming a distant memory, as if a dark sheet had wrapped itself over those memories to shut them out. It wasn't easy, but the words of his girlfriend rang in his ears when they gotten back from Apokalips. He was so thankful to still have those words present in his mind and carry them in his heart.

"We have to go forward".

It wasn't easy, but having her with him was enough to give him a light to focus on. A light he was joined with by others. He had Master Fu looking after him, and while he was angry with him at first for all he knew, he couldn't hold anything against him with everything he suffered when Grail came after him and all the efforts he's done to keep him safe. Constantine, despite being such an ass, was also there to help him whenever he could, being a tough talker when it came to it with his heart putting some passionate words in. But most of all, he had his friends.

First week of being back home, school was cancelled, and this gave his friends all the time in the world to come and see him. He assured them he wasn't smoking, something he begged Constantine to do outside. But the fact Nino finally sat him down and got him to tell him of his feelings about what happened and what he had buried, it was something he needed. Even Nathanaël was there to listen to him, hearing of the agony of his life turned upside down and all his father did. He never thought they'd be so understanding, but they were. Nino promised him if anyone were to hurt him, he'd be there for him like a shield protecting life.

All that talking was painful, but it gotten weight off his chest. He didn't tell them all he went through, so he had to choose his words carefully, but telling them of his difficulties and his fear, Adrien felt more lighter inside his chest and his head was clearer with less tension inside of him. The road to recovery was long, but he felt as if he was halfway there. He didn't want to keep feeling so miserable and angry inside, it was only gone when he was around his girlfriend, but now in general it was all fading. It was weird to say, but he was feeling normal again.

One of the few safe places he could go to was the bakery, where he was warmly welcomed by Tom and Sabine. Adrien did wonder what made them so good hearted and strong with all they went through too, but he was glad to be around more adults that knew a good person when they saw one. And this meant they got to see how genuine things were between him and Marinette, Who taught him how to make a cake. It was messy, but fun, and it certainly involved some licking with him removing some cream off her cheeks, giving her a teasing purr as he did so. His first cake didn't turn out so well, but the first times never work out greatly usually, and it was edible. That and seeing his girlfriend put all her creative energy into something other than fighting was something that nearly melted him, for she was in her element. Seeing her smile and dance with him in the kitchen was like he was living in a world of pure sweetness with a scent of blueberry from her hair and the most brightest of smiles that sent tingles throughout his body.

Sadly, his pleasant lay in was cut short when the stench of Camembert cheese reached his nose, stinging it enough to wake him up. Rubbing his eyes, he glared at Plagg with a slight smirk.

"You really should make a bed out of cheese, it'd be heaven to you." he grumbled as he pushed the blankets off. Plagg nodded as he chewed off another piece.

"Mm hm! And after everything we've been through, I deserve a cheese bed! Heck, you could break into a cheese factory and bring back the biggest of cheeses for me to eat! You'd be powered infinitely!" he exclaimed, his green eyes full of dreams of tucking into the biggest of cheese anyone could make.

He couldn't help but smile at his Kwami, smoothing his little head with his thumb to see he recovered well from getting fused with Joker and Darkseid and meeting Hippolyta again. The little guy had a huge push for going forward, something Adrien was glad to keep up with.

"Well, since only my friends know where I live, and my whereabouts are officially unknown, I don't see any problem in sneaking into a cheese factory and bringing some back here for my bestest kitty." he teased, getting a slight glare from Plagg.

"Call me a kitty again and I'll stick cheese in your pants! Marinette will stay away then!" he almost hissed, only to get a smirk from Adrien.

"I can counter that with a shower! And even if I did stink of cheese it would draw Marinette very much closer." he winked, getting a grin from Plagg.

Sadly, the joking was cut short when the elderly voice of Master Fu called up to him.

"Adrien! Come out here now! There's something on the news you have to see!" he sounded nervous, as if he was struggling to take in what he was seeing. Adrien's eyes sharpened, wondering what was on the news that had his carer so worried, but it clearly wasn't good.

Going out of his room with Plagg following closely, Adrien found Master Fu sitting on his sofa, leaning forward a bit as if he was fixated on the news, with Nooroo and Wayzz sitting beside him and looking just as shocked. His eyes followed to the screen and the blonde boy froze. Tension and twists formed in his stomach as he took in what was on the screen.

It was Nadja Chammock, Manon's mother. She looked sad and grim, as if she was still struggling to getting used to telling these sad news. Beside her was a live air view footage of the Bourgeoise hotel, with several officers standing guard at the doors. Next to the footage was a photo of André, Chloe's father. What came next was a huge punch to the stomachs of everyone watching.

"We interrupt this programme with some saddening news that has again hit Paris as of late. Our Mayor, Andre Bourgeois...has died."

* * *

_**Well this is already off to a hectic start. It seems Paris is in for more unwelcome visitors and now Mayor Bourgeois has died! What will become of Paris now their mayor is dead? Who will be elected in his place? Do the enemies of Young Justice have anything to do with this death at all? And what are their plans for Paris?!**_

_**So many questions, but you'll only find the answers as you read on. Tune in next time as our heroes come to terms with this sudden passing and elections are held for Paris's next mayor...**_


	2. Chapter 1: Mourning

_Chapter 1: Mourning _

News can capture the attention of anyone. Wether it's about animals, politics or the food we eat, it would get some people interested. But when it came to the death of someone, it got everyone's attention. Especially when it is so close to home.

For Marinette, she felt her stomach twist in shock at what was bring reported. Her eyes were sad and her mouth could only open wordlessly at what she was seeing. Her mother and father were standing very closely, Sabine covering her mouth to hide its trembling while Tom had his hands on his hips with a grim look on his usual jolly face, both of them clearly sad and finding it hard to take it in. Nadja continued to talk, her voice trembling too as she read out the sickening news.

"It's not yet known what caused the death of the mayor, but it is widely known that he took a backseat from the public eye following the death of his daughter, Chloe Bourgeois, at the collective hands of Gabriel Agreste, Joker and Riddler. It's likely that her death took a toll on his health and most probably died of a broken heart...um, s-sorry, just getting some more info now...it's reported that he was found in his bed by his butler, Jean, who phoned the emergency services. He's getting interviewed by ambulance crews and police on what was going on in the hours prior to his death."

As she continued, Marinette let this all process in her head at what she just heard. For someone who she thought was as loud and silly as Chloe, hearing of the likelihood that her death caused him to die certainly reminded Marinette that no matter what, both were human and family. She wanted to kick herself for saying that it was about time Chloe's death made him feel some sense about his place in power. This was something that she should've thought about more...

But her mother gotten her words out before Marinette could say anything.

"The poor man...I don't want to imagine what he must've felt in the last two weeks. He didn't deserve any of that. Just look at what it did to him." she said in a sad tone, her heart going out to the deceased. Marinette looked at her mother, her eyes pained as she resisted the urge of telling her what she knew, for she had an idea of what Andre must've felt during his last few weeks of being alive. But she couldn't. Not yet after all they went through.

The best the bluenette could do was just put an arm around her mother as well her dad, who stood closely to them.

"No one should ever lose anyone they love, especially like this...I may not have liked Chloe, but she meant something to her dad...wish she was here." Marinette said numbly, her eyes full of sadness at seeing the grief her bully left behind following her death. Tom patted her shoulder, giving his daughter a warm look.

"I know, my little baby. I can only hope they've found each other again in the afterlife. That is something I like to believe in." he said gently, trying to put some light into the two girls he loved so much in his life.

Marinette could only nod in agreement. She didn't care what she saw on Apokalips, whatever that trick Desaad tried to pull on her. She hoped Chloe was in peace and had her dad with her now. She could only wonder how everyone else was taking it.

* * *

For Adrien, it was more than a twist in his stomach. It was a sting that stung his whole body and made him feel like he was coming down with sickness. He numbly found himself sitting down on the sofa next to Master Fu, who also stared at the TV screen with a lost look on his face as they took it in. Nadja continued on with her report, this time joined by a Parisian governing spokesman. Yet for the blonde boy, nothing was reaching his ears. Instead, memories of Andre replayed in his mind. Because unlike others, he knew him quite well in his life. Loud, boasting with energy but quite a stressed person, he was often a joke Adrien would make to the Gorilla when growing up. With all that they've gone through recently, Adrien could easily imagine the pain the man went through in the last few weeks, for losing someone you loved, no matter how bratty, rude or impulsive they were towards others, even to you, it was a rotten feeling. For Adrien, he lost two people in that same week, his childhood friend and his father...It was gutting to hear it took the life of his friend's father...

Master Fu continued to listen "I'm joined by Danheil Dolez, a government spokesman. What will happen now that...Andre has passed on?" she asked with nervousness in her voice. Danheil looked like he was clearly dressed in a hurry, for his shirt was open slightly with a low tie and his hair wasn't as well combed, even more evident when he tried to find his words.

"Well, Nadjia, in these, uh, circumstances, we'd hold an election straight away, but with the trauma this city has suffered lately, we've decided to put a temporary body in charge, maintaining natural law and politics until a replacement is elected. Whoever will get chosen be elected by the Parisian council." he replied, trying to use the best words for the situation.

"When will they get held?" Nadjia asked, her eyes sharp with questions.

"They'll start at around the end of the week after the funeral of Andre. Having had an emergency meeting, we feel it's best we lay him to rest with his daughter, who is scheduled to have her funeral this week. It'll be a week of national mourning, to remember those we lost in the recent weeks." Danheil responded, sounding more straightforward this time.

Nadjia bit her lip at what her next question will be, knowing well many were not going to like what she'd say to him. She wasn't going to like it either, but she had to get it out there.

"Whoever gets elected, will there be new laws put in place? Do you feel that they see Ladybug and Chat Noir to blame for all this?"

That made Adrien shoot his head up in shock, leaving a concerned Master Fu to give him a soft look. Danheil almost lost his focus again, trying to find the right words.

"Well...there are those of us who strongly believe those two are not at fault. We do not blame someone like Aquaman for pirating in the oceans and the cost of lives piracy takes, then we have no blame to place on Ladybug and Chat Noir. This is no time to lay blame onto anyone, our mayor has died." he explained, his voice growing sharper as he finished his words. Nadjia nodded.

"I agree with you there. It's not something I wanted to ask, as I will forever be grateful to them for saving my daughter. It's just there's some questions that need to get addressed." she explained to him.

"She shouldn't have asked that question at all." Plagg grumbled while Nooroo nuzzled Adrien, giving him a nervous look as he saw how his eyes lost their light a little.

"Try not to let it get to you, Adrien. We don't want you upset again." the Butterfly Kwami begged as Master Fu patted his back.

"You should listen to Nooroo, Adrien. You can't go beating yourself up again." he added.

Adrien looked at them both and sighed, holding his chin in one hand.

"I won't. I promised I wouldn't go back into that hole. Doesn't mean I can't think of what could've been. I could've talked to him. Tell him I'm sorry for what my dad did...or at least as Chat Noir I could've comforted him." he said lightly.

Nooroo rubbed his hand while Wayzz floated next to him.

"You can make a prayer when the time is right, Adrien. Give him your respects when he and Chloe are laid to rest." the Green Kwami said to him.

Adrien nodded, though there was some nervousness to his voice as he responded.

"Yeah. Would like to do that, if I wasn't public enemy number one to a few people. I won't be able to go to the funeral...not properly at least." he reminded the Kwami, only for Master Fu to give him a smile.

"Nothing has stopped you before. Talk to your friends when you see them. They'll come up with an idea to get you to the funeral without anyone seeing you." he told him, wisdom strong in his voice.

Smiling properly since the news was on, Adrien gave him a pat on the arm.

"It's something we can do. I'll text Marinette first, see how she's taking it. She's watching right now most likely." he replied, grateful for the old man's words as he stood up.

"You do that, my dear boy. Give her my best when you talk to her." Master Fu told him as Adrien walked off to his room to get his phone.

Master Fu's smile fell slightly though as he looked back to the TV screen, not seeing Plagg stayed with him, growling slightly.

"People actually are trying to blame my boy and his girlfriend for all this crap? By that logic, we should blame them for Hawkmoth's attacks when he was the douche that started it! They've done so much to help those idiots!" the feline Kwami yelled, startling his fellow Kwamis.

"They Don't know everything, Plagg, and people are scared. You should understand that." Wayzz pointed out to him, trying to keep his friend focussed on the truth of human responses. Plagg just growled again.

"They know nothing, just as you said. They don't even understand the pressure those two put themselves under in protecting this city." he replied, getting a sigh from Wayzz and Nooroo as he then flew off to go with Adrien.

Master Fu hummed to himself as he thought about the conversation between the Kwamis and what was said on the news. It didn't stop him from voicing his words.

"For someone who's been alive for as long as I have, things change in every way, we all know this. Sometimes out of deaths, trauma, or politics, things change, from lives, to perception, to operations...whoever will get put in charge of this city next will be harsh on Ladybug and Chat Noir. The attention from enemy forces is also worrying, so much pressure will be put on them, they won't handle it alone. The Justice League can't keep coming over too because it'll make Ladybug and Chat Noir feel untrustworthy and weak in the eyes of the people ...my friends." he said slowly as he stood up, getting the Kwamis' attention.

For the first time since Grail attacked him, the ancient man felt confidence in what he was thinking, helping with the strong standing he had.

"It's time we plan for more heroes to step in. Paris needs more heroes, and the two it have now need as many as they can." he said brightly, going to the cabinet that had the Miraculous Box in it.

The Kwamis followed him, shock in their eyes.

"Wait, Master...you mean you'll be handing out more?" Wayzz asked near numbly.

"What about Emilie? Shouldn't we go find her first?" Nooroo reminded the old man, making him stop in his tracks for a few seconds.

Master Fu sighed as he knew he had to make a choice, a choice he wasn't happy about making.

"I was going to share it with Adrien, but with the death of the mayor, we'll have to wait...I hope this will go by quickly, but right now, Paris is fractured, and if an attack happens while we're gone looking for her, it'll be even harder for them when we were to have returned. This way, others will be here to help look after the city." he said grimly, trying to say his words right.

Wayzz nodded as he floated next to his master while Nooroo looked unsure.

"I really don't want to lie to him, Master. With all he's been through, he deserves every bit of truth we've learnt." he said, but Wayzz looked at his purple friend with a soft look.

"It's not easy, Nooroo, but with what we've all learnt today, telling Adrien what we know about his mother now can be too much for him in one day." he said gently.

"Wayzz is right. We aren't happy about it too but we need to focus on the now. When the new heroes are well trained, we will tell him then. It might take a week, but it should be enough." Master Fu said as he then got his phone, finding Constantine on his contacts.

"I'll have to tell him and Nathalie of the changes. They'll understand, might buy time to get the arrangements made." he added as he began to contact them.

As he did, though, he felt a tight twist in his chest. He hoped there was enough time left and that Nathalie was staying low from their enemy, plus he hoped everyone would understand after learning what he found out a few weeks ago. Yet he was worried things would go wrong which left only him and Marianne left...

In the other room, Adrien had phoned up his girlfriend to see if she had learned of today's news, too focused on getting changed to hear anything in the living room. It was clear to Adrien that Marinette must've finished watching for his call was answered immediately. Adrien smiled briefly, glad he would be hearing his beloved's voice after such a shocking piece of news had come out.

"Bonjour Marinette!" he cried, making sure he sounded cheerful so as to put Marinette in a good frame of mind.

"Adrien, you have no idea how happy I am to hear your voice right now!" came the reply of his girlfriend, "Please tell me you've heard the news!"

"Me and Master Fu literally JUST saw it!" Adrien exclaimed, "Mayor Bourgeois has died! I...I only wish I'd had a moment to talk to him as either myself or as Cat Noir before this happened. We owed him that much after...well, you know." he said solemnly.

"Likewise." Marinette agreed, "If the Riddler was still here now, I'd use a Lucky Charm and hopefully, it'd give me something to flatten his smug face with!"

On the other side of the phone, Adrien could hear Marinette inhaling a little, imagining she was trying to collect herself and not let her temper get the best of her. He too couldn't help screwing his eyes shut as the gruesome image of Chloe's head being ripped apart by a bomb in her phone came into his own head again. The bomb had been placed there by the Riddler as part of his usual sick, sadistic game to prove himself smarter than Batman. He doubted he and Marinette would ever shake off that grotesque scene until the time came to arrange their own funerals.

"You have no idea how much I'd LOVE to see you do that." Adrien chuckled, "Still, it's gonna be a while before we can accept that he's truly gone. You know full well that I knew Andre and Chloe for years..."

"I know, you and Chloe were childhood friends." Marinette murmured, still wondering how such a thing was possible to say considering Adrien was so nice but Chloe was so horrible, "You knew them all your life. I...I'm sorry that you had to lose two people you knew for so long."

Adrien nodded, appreciating Marinette's sympathies. How anyone like her could be bullied by a friend of his for so long and still show sympathy was amazing. People like Marinette were fond reminders for the Agreste boy that truly compassionate people really did exist.

"Thank you so much Marinette. That really means a lot." Adrien said kindly.

"Anything for you handsome." Marinette said sweetly, "Uh, you don't mind if I call you that, right?" she piped awkwardly.

Adrien could practically picture his girlfriend's blush without needing to be in the same room as her.

"Course not." the blonde teen replied, "Say, how do you feel about calling our friends and gathering together to talk about this as one big group? It'll be great to see everyone again and talk about this together, ya know."

"I like that." Marinette replied, "Shall we meet up at say, the Lourve later this morning?"

Adrien hummed for a second before he got out an answer "No, don't think that's a good idea, it's too public. People will notice some guy in a hood hanging around the others. How about near the Seine? Where we all used to go?" He softly suggested, thinking back on the memories of everything that they all did before the big changes.

On the other end of the phone, Marinette tutted at herself.

"Sorry, yeah, the Louvre, big attraction to everyone, shouldn't have said that! Y-Yeah, the Seine, that's better." she told herself, making her boyfriend smirk at how she was correcting herself in her usual quick and loud way before she spoke again.

"Yeah, at the Seine, near the bridge, we'll go for that. I'm sure everyone will turn up, they never avoid a big get together." she said, sounding more focused with her words.

Adrien smiled, looking forward to seeing his girlfriend again and this time they wouldn't be alone...though he wouldn't have minded more alone time with her.

"I'll meet you there as soon as. Can't wait to see you again. I love you, my sweet cherry." he teased.

Adrien swore he felt the phone heat up, it must've been Marinette's cheeks lighting up from the other end.

"S-Sure! I love you too!" she squealed, still getting used to the little nicknames he gave her, sounding so charming and how it rolled neatly with his voice.

The blonde boy smiled as he imagined the bright face of his girlfriend covering her mouth in awe at his words as she turned the phone off. Yet funnily enough, all he could do was collapse onto his bed, feeling his heart flutter at hearing her voice again.

Despite the trauma they went through, their dreams of being together came true, and they pushed through together. He didn't think he'd get through everything without her, something that left him smiling in a dreamy way.

Plagg plopped next to him.

"Young love. Seems stronger than I thought with all the time I've been on this planet." he mumbled, getting a look from his owner.

"You should've gotten used to it by now, especially with me." he pointed out in a knowing tone, getting a small nod from the Kwami.

"Don't I know it." he said as he then sat on top of the blonde boy's chest.

"Still, you should brace yourself for some reactions from your friends. They'll vary, so be ready." he warned him, getting a nod from Adrien as he sat up, his face going down only a little.

"Yeah...it won't be easy. There'll be plenty of gossip. But I'll try to cope well." he said softly as he picked up the little Kwami, who grinned.

"Yes you will. Because your future wife be there along with your future Best Man." he winked, getting a warning finger from him.

"Oh just you button it, pal!" he cheekily yelled, putting him in his hoodie pocket as he headed out of the room to begin his walk to the meet up.

* * *

In Marinette's, the blue haired girl was finished with doing her pigtails once she gotten changed, with Tikki helping to smooth her hair a bit to neat it.

"Do you think they'll say all kinds of stuff about Andre when we meet with them?" Tikki asked nervously, only for Marinette to smile.

"They won't. They didn't disrespect Chloe when she was killed, they won't disrespect Andre. You should know them by now." she reminded her Kwami as she slipped her jacket on while heading for her shoes.

"It's not really that, its also about what they'll say about stuff you don't know about. You need to get ready for what you might hear, Marinette, because if what Nadjia said is true, some might be saying some rude stuff about you and Chat Noir." she warned the human, her voice full of worry.

Marinette frowned as she got her shoes on, taking in her Kwami's words carefully, already turning some wheels in her head to process it. She saw what conflicting words about celebrities could do to people who followed them, whether they were real or just gossip, but it does turn things ugly. The blue haired girl looked to her Kwami, her eyes full of levity.

"Tikki, I know what you mean. But it's just as you said, after we've taken on gods, we can take on nearly anything. Opinions of the people won't put me down, plus it won't stop from doing what's right. You think I'll stop being Ladybug over that?" she asked daringly with a confident smile on her face. The Kwami beamed, seeing that indeed Marinette still looked on the bright side, plus she did raise a good point. No one should stop when it came to opinions, having learnt that with all of her holders.

"Really glad for you, Marinette. Still, if you ever need to talk to anyone about this, there's Adrien or Master Fu. Or Diana." she reminded, getting a nod from her owner.

"Too right. Plus, talking of friends, let's see if everyone is up for it." she noted to herself as she picked up her phone.

Just a contact and a tap, and it was only a five second ring to Alya that began to get things on the go. Still, part of Marinette knew she had to get ready to hear as much gossip as she could handle, because deep down she knew things were going to change when a new figure was in power...

* * *

Something about Paris was beautiful to the girl. While her brownish eyes were sharp in her lookouts, and staying as mysterious and normal at the same time was hard, she couldn't help but feel there was a sense of adventure and questions about this place. Something she wanted to jump into and enjoy it for what it was. Plus, the river was calm and ran smoothly, with the dawn of the sun glowing beautifully on it and adding more light to the city, something she wanted to picture and forever keep.

But the Japanese girl knew that what she had to do was important, for the news could only mean the operation was close to getting activated. It was just a matter of bring a mysterious reporter, something she trained hard at with other things...

Her eyes then picked up another hooded figure walking by her, making his way towards the steps of the bridge of the Seine, where his own little meet up was taking place. She didn't know why, but this raised interest in her, so she decided to stick around, as sometimes hooded people in the sun were always something to look at. After all, how many people wore a hoodie in sunny weather like this?

The hooded girl followed the hooded boy, but not too closely so she wouldn't be noticed. There wasn't much of a crowd, but the Seine still had a lot of people gathering round so it was easy to get by unnoticed. So far, the boy didn't seem aware he was being followed. He carried on walking as if this was just another normal day for him, like this was something he did when he wasn't at school. The boy turned around as he reached the top of the steps and headed across the bridge. The girl stayed where she was, near the top of the steps, and from where she was standing, she could still see the top of his head. Was he going all the way across or would he stay to admire the view? It seemed to be the latter, though he was clearly not doing it alone. The girl could hear other voices further up the bridge as they crossed over towards where the hooded boy was standing. It seemed there was a lot of people meeting up with him too for she picked up a lot of voices.

_Whoever that boy is, he's clearly popular._ the Japanese girl mused in her head, _How many people are meeting him on that bridge?_

She stayed where she was, getting a phone out of her pocket and pretending to play on it so nobody would think she was eavesdropping. Anyone walking by would dismiss her as some bored teenager more focused on a worthless piece of technology instead of enjoying the fantastic sights of Paris. She heard the get-together that was happening on the bridge as several teenage boys and girls conversed together.

"Yo Adrien, I ain't seen ya in ages! What's up man?" cried Nino, the cool kid in Marinette and Adrien's class who seemed forever trapped in the 90's decade, or at least seemed too wrapped up in it to realize it had long since ended. He gave Adrien a rib-crushing embrace that made him cry out in surprise.

"Everything's fine, and it'll be more fine if you stop crushing me!" he yelped.

Everybody giggled as Nino put his friend down. It was great to have everybody together again for the first time since Ladybug and Cat Noir had fought against Grail and Darkseid. Everybody was here from Alya to Max to Kim to Rose & Juleka and even Lila was here, though she still felt a little out of place in these meetings due to her past as perpetual liar. A few minutes were spent sharing hugs and exchanging greetings to one another before the children settled down to talk.

"You all know why we're here." Marinette said, her voice grim and her tone serious, letting everybody know that what they were about to discuss was something unpleasant.

"Yeah, you told us all when you called us." Alya confirmed, "It's so horrible to hear what happened to the mayor."

"He may have been Chloe's dad and he abused his power a lot, but it's still awful to hear about what happened!" Rose whimpered, her bright blue eyes sorrowful and on the verge of tears. She was clutching Juleka's hand as if it could somehow make everything better.

"Chloe's death clearly hit him hard if that's what killed him." Juleka put in, smoothing Rose's arm to try and comfort her partner, "It didn't help the way she died too..." she muttered, cringing.

"Every time I go to bed, I'm back in the Riddler's lair watching her head explode." Kim grimaced, "It's like one of those nightmares that'll never go away!"

"I never would've expected that Chloe's death would have such far-reaching consequences!" Max exclaimed, "With him dead, we can only wait and see who'll be his replacement."

"I know, and that's what I wanted to talk to you all about." Marinette put in, "What do you think will happen when we get our new mayor and what consequences could it bring? Big questions I know, but that's why me and Adrien thought it'd be better to ask all of you instead of just asking each other."

The Japanese girl pursed her lips with interest. So this group was talking about the deceased Mayor Bourgeois? She had to hear where this conversation was going. She leaned her head to one side to make sure she didn't miss any of the conversation. There was no wind and few people were walking about so it was easy to overhear the chat that was happening.

Everyone was silent for a few seconds, not really sure how to take in that question, for even Adrien looked at her in confusion. It was Alya who got her voice out first, her eyes stunned while her voice was somewhat sharp in what she said to her.

"Didn't think politics was your thing. Don't think it's nice talking about that a few hours after he died. You sure you aren't gonna be a news reporter when you grow up girl?" she inquired, sounding somewhat disappointed that this big get together was all about.

Marinette raised her hands in defence.

"What I'm just trying to say is that, you guys think that whoever gets put in charge might try to, you know...tighten the law a little? Like, give Ladybug and Chat Noir a hard time? Restrict their activity, stop people like you from talking to them, Alya?" she pointed out, getting a collective gasp from everyone around them, while the Japanese girl watched on, eyeing Marinette with interest at her words, while seeing how close she was to Adrien, who stayed hooded. That was something worth keeping to her mind and reporting.

"DUUUUUUUUDE! No way would they do that! That'd be like turning this whole place into a tightly controlled isolated city with no free movement!" Nino cried in disbelief, shaking Marinette by the shoulder, with Kim shaking his head.

"If they do that, I'm calling the most powerful lawyer we have! I'll run for mayor myself if I have to!" he declared proudly, standing straight to look powerful. Ivan pinched his nose in frustration.

"There's no reason why they'd do that. I wouldn't be for it. It's thanks to Ladybug I was saved and got better, and that's saying something for being the first ever person akumatized." he said, trying to put sense into all this.

Alya looked more interested now, already pacing back and forth.

"Ohhhhh...now that is worrying. But...c'mon, you think they'll just ignore all the policies and rules Andre put in place before he died? They'd want to focus on the criminals, not our heroes." she pointed out to her, trying to bring her own argument to the table. That was when Lila stepped up though, finding her voice in a place she was still trying to belong to.

"Alya, if you're ever gonna be a reporter, you should know that whoever takes over someone's point of power, they'll tear it down and make it their own, especially in something like this." she spoke, her voice sounding so sure of what she was on about, leaving everyone to stare at her in slight confusion, still trying to get use to believing whatever she said now.

"You really think so?" Adrien pressed to her.

"My parents are politicians, Adrien, I know how it works. It's sad but true, something I'm being truthful about." Lila simply replied, really pressing in on the last part like she was in pain, feeling she was still under some scrutiny despite Marinette helping her. They didn't notice the Japanese girl turning up the volume on her phone, her eyes slightly wide at what she picked up. Her eyes focussed on Adrien's face and she was almost fixated. There was only one Adrien that kept getting mentioned in Paris and that was Adrien Agreste.

_So...the son of Hawk Moth is here. Didn't think he'd still have friends. They must really trust him._ she thought to herself as she continued to listen in, _Plus, that Italian girl said her parents are politicians. Have to get my mistress to look into it...just hope she'll be happy this time._ she added glumly to herself, not wanting to disappoint her.

"Look, even if they tried to restrict Ladybug or Chat Noir, and disrespect what the Mayor did, there'd be a public outcry. No one wants to see their hero or someone who suffered to get disrespected. Don't underestimate the voices of the people, especially those they saved." Alix hit back, trying to sound more casual about it with some hope in her voice.

"Yeah. I'm not letting them take our heroes away, no matter what law they try to pass. They mean a lot to me." Juleka spoke up as she sat with Rose, sounding passionate about what she believed in.

"They'll still try to blame them though. Can see it now: Rising Crime Rate, Rising Deaths, are Ladybug and Chat Noir heroes or death magnets?" Nathanaël said, grim at picturing the headline. Nino folded his arms with a slight glare.

"Sounds like something that Brian Beaumont would say. He never liked them." he pointed out, getting a nervous look from Nathanaël

"He said something similar on the radio. He might say it again." he sheepishly said, waving an apologetic hand.

"I'd rather have Armand in charge. Sure, he's passionate about his ancestry, but he might've learnt his lesson." Max then said, getting a stare from some of his friends, with only his eyes darting back and forth.

"What?" he asked bluntly.

"I wouldn't trust him that much, Max. He never liked Andre and was always at his throat when growing up. He might do it out of spite." Adrien reminded him of what their fencing teacher was like, only for Max to shrug.

"Would rather have a guy like him as mayor than have a hero-hater." he reminded. Adrien looked stunned but shared a look with his girlfriend, who gave him a smile that told him what she thought, so he shrugged back.

"Good point." was all he could say in a light tone.

Alya then looked glum as she leaned over the side, making the hooded girl step back a bit to avoid attention, though Nathanaël noticed.

"Uh, what's wrong, Alya?" he asked, drawing everyone to her. The Martiniquan girl sighed as she took her glasses off, looking thoughtful.

"Guys, it's not just Ladybug and Chat Noir I'm worried about this time. I'll stand up for them, but right now, it's my mom I'm worried about." she admitted. Everyone's eyes went wide as realisation hit them what she was talking about.

"Ooooooh girl I'm sorry! There's us talking political rows but not about you!" Nino yelled, looping an arm around his girlfriend, feeling frustrated at being so ignorant.

"Don't be, honey. We're still taking everything in. Andre might've been bossy, but he loved my mom's work as a chef in his hotel. He paid her good money. Now it looks like she's gonna lose out if someone else buys it with his or her own new chefs. She'll get made jobless, and the zoo don't pay dad much." Alya explained, her usual energy gone and hitting low, her family well on her mind.

That made everybody realize just how far the consequences of Andre's passing really reached. Even one of their own had a reason to worry about what would become of them despite not seeming to be tied to the mayor in anyway. Marinette and Nino felt the most worried for Alya out of everyone, the two looking to each other as if hoping either one could think of the right thing to say to make the Ladyblog founder feel better. But surprisingly enough, neither of them said anything. Instead, it was Alix who chimed in with a comforting suggestion.

"I got an idea!" she exclaimed, "My dad works at the Louvre Food Works. If your mom loses her job at the hotel, I'll talk with him and see if he can get your mom a job there Alya!"

"Wow, that's a great idea Alix!" Marinette exclaimed, glad that Alix had been the one to speak up instead of her after all, "And I'm sure my own parents would happily offer your mom a job at my bakery if need be."

The spectacled teen's face brightened at the generosity of her friends. How lucky was she to be surrounded by such pleasant company.

"Wow girls, I...I really don't know what to say." Alya said, humbled.

"Not often you of all people wind up speechless." Kim joked.

Alya gave him a playful smirk in return.

"Well, it's a rarity, but I'm glad for it." she said thankfully, patting the sporty kid's arm, "I'll tell mom as soon as I see her, I really appreciate it you two." she said humbly, patting the shoulders of Marinette and Alix, the latter of whom giggled.

"I might look like a rough lazy butt, but looks aren't everything" she said brightly.

Nino looked to Adrien with a smile of his own.

"Speaking of family, my dude, my mom took some convincing, but she's up for you coming over. I'll make sure she's not super frosty with ya, don't need her giving you the cold shoulder." he revealed, getting a bright smile off of the blonde boy.

"As long as she's comfortable when she sees me, I'll be glad to hang out at yours, Nino." he said gladly, grateful for his best friend's efforts.

Sabrina, being quiet throughout most of the conversation, finally spoke up.

"Well, we all might be comfortable with you, but I don't think everyone at the funeral will, Adrien. That's if you'll be going." she said bluntly, making everyone stare at her with a glum look.

"Great of you to kill the mood, girl" Alya said in a sharp voice. Sabrina sighed.

"Look, I'm just being honest. If Adrien shows up at the funeral, they'll shoot him on the spot, even though they know he's innocent. My dad's has to keep reminding everyone not to get so jumpy." she explained, with Lila nodding.

"Yeah. My parents will have their own bodyguards there, they aren't as understanding as you guys are. Let's just say they've got their targets aimed right on Adrien if he shows up" she informed miserably, not wanting to see anymore hostility.

Adrien's face remained light despite the worried looks he got from everyone, waving his hand calmly.

"I won't show up until after they've been laid to rest. When everyone's gone, I'll go then." he said softly. Marinette took her boyfriend's hand and looked up at him with deep worry in her eyes.

"You sure? We can always hide you in the crowds." she suggested to him, only for him to give her that charming smile of his.

"Its better that way, Marinette. That way, no one will say anything about me, no one will get scared, then I'll get to go and feel comfortable being there...if you will be there with me though." he added. Marinette beamed and smoothed his cheeks softly, nodding at him.

"You know I will. I'll gladly wait for you and stand with you." she told her boyfriend, content with his decision.

"We'll all wait for you." Mylene then said, startling them slightly to hear what she just said.

"I mean, you've only just started getting better after everything but you shouldn't just go through it with Marinette. I know she's your girlfriend, but you need everyone who cares about you." she added to him, logical about what she told him. A touched smile came over his face at this while Marinette gave her a grateful look.

"We appreciate it, Mylene. That's if you're all up for it. I know Alya and Nino will." she replied.

"When she says we'll all be there, we will!" Kim brightly said.

"As cheesy as it is, friends stick together. Isn't that right?" Nathanael pointed out.

"That we do!" Nino exclaimed, nudging him in a energetic way that nearly knocked him over. Lila looked down slightly.

"I'll try to stick around, if my mom and dad let me, or if any of you do." she said quietly, though it was enough to get Marinette's attention. The blue haired girl patted and smoothed her arms comfortingly, giving her that sense of welcome she gave her when she got to know her.

"You need to stop being so nervous, of course you can stick around, Lila. Not everyone thinks you're a liar." she assured, making the Italian girl sigh in pleasure.

"We know I learnt my lesson after everyone found out about my lies, never gonna lie again. Plus I have Ladybug to thank for giving me a second chance after she saved me." she said lightly.

Just as the Japanese girl decided to turn away, another conversation sparked up that got her attention as Lila's phone buzzed, telling her she got a text message. Picking up, she groaned and sighed.

"Ugh, just my parents, telling me they'll be meeting that Brian Beaumont, gonna be out all day, probably giving the heroes crap. Mind if I stick with you guys now?" she asked.

"Better than you doing nothing and feeling alone, you can stay with us." Adrien replied, knowing well about distant parents' attitudes.

"Yeah. We might go to the park, take our mind off this." Kim suggested as Max pulled out some cards, suggesting a game to use.

"That would be great. Lead the way, big dude!" Nino happily agreed.

As the crowd of kids slowly pulled away from the side, Alya got talking with Lila.

"Your parents need to get in touch with us, we've all been akumatized but don't blame our two heroes." she said sharply, only for Lila to shake her head.

"No arguing with politicians. They'd rather ask someone like Marinette how she's avoided getting akumatized." she pointed out, nearly getting a squeak out of the blue haired girl.

"Well, I don't do well with politicians, thanks!" she cried, getting a giggle from everyone of the kids.

They parted from the bridge, leaving the Japanese girl watching on in fascination, while keeping her eyes on Marinette as she left. Her brain got some wonders going through it, with a keen smile on her face.

"She seems familiar...can't put my finger on it, but she does...Though that is interesting about her. She's not been akumatized unlike the rest of them. For a squeaker, she must have a strong will." she noted to herself as she turned her phone's recording off, turning away from the bridge, "Just hope my mistress will like this, it's hard to please her at all...those lot seem to have quite a close friendship. Far from what my comrades have." she noted to herself glumly as she knew her trip out in the open was gonna be cut short.

She headed away from the bridge, knowing she had no reason to continue eavesdropping. There was no conversation left to eavesdrop on. She walked away, allowing the crowd to swallow her up, another head among thousands in the city. The girl could only wonder how her mistress would react to the information she'd gathered...

* * *

Marinette and her friends weren't the only ones taking precaution with the recent news on Andre's passing. Two individuals were equally concerned about the news, and they weren't even Parisian themselves. In fact, they couldn't be further away from the French city, let along the country itself. Sitting at the huge, impressive monitors of the Bat Computers, Bruce Wayne and Tim Drake were once again suited up and ready for action as their now legendary superhero identities, Batman and Robin. Despite it being morning in Paris, it was still night time over in Gotham City due to the time difference between France and America with France being 6 hours ahead of America. This was still the time that they roamed the city, they wouldn't be going to sleep themselves for awhile now.

Batman's eyes narrowed with dark uncertainty as he took in what had been reported. Robin shared his expression, thinking back to the mission from a few days ago and what they'd swiped from Psimon's computer. He couldn't get those words out of his head: "Paris is ripe for the picking". What did it mean? Why Paris of all places? And now this had happened! He shook his head grimly.

"The Light send Psimon a message saying that Paris is ripe for them, and then suddenly we hear that the city's mayor is dead." he muttered, "This can NOT be a coincidence. If I didn't know any better, the Light planned this to happen."

"It's possible they assassinated him, yes, but at the same time it could be a coincidence." Batman noted, "Remember, when I fought alongside Ladybug and Cat Noir, it was the mayor's daughter who died at the Riddler's hands. The news says he died of a broken heart. It could well be that Chloe's death lead to his own."

"I doubt the Light could've anticipated that to happen." Robin muttered, "They're not the kind of guys to rely on coincidences to forward their plans. I'm convinced it was murder."

"It could well be murder, but until we get to Paris and investigate for ourselves, we must rule out all possibilities of his death really being a result of grief or murder." Batman sighed, "We can't jump to conclusions, that is how misunderstandings and mistrust of superheroes happen."

Robin nodded, seeing his mentor's point. Years of training with Batman had taught him that no judgement was greater than his own at times and he had to follow Batman's advice as much as following his own instincts.

"Whether Andre's death was planned or a coincidence, we'll find out sooner or later." the tech-whiz declared, "For now, we gotta consider how the Light could take advantage of this situation given Paris is their target. Do you think they might try and sneak in an agent or two into the Parisian government?"

"You know as well as I that the Light will sneak anyone into any government if it means forwarding their own goals." Batman muttered, "We have two people running for mayor at the moment, an Armand D'Argencourt and a Brian Beaumont. Armand appears to be a fencing teacher at Marinette and Adrien's school and Brian is an advocate against superheroes and believes that all superheroes should be public instead of hiding behind a mask."

"Don't we know a few assholes like that..." Robin sighed in annoyance.

"It's almost too obvious Brian could be an associate of the Light, but just as you said, it could well be a misunderstanding." came the voice of Kaldur as he came into the Bat-Cave, his voice sharp as ever, holding his pad in his hands as he finished doing his research.

"Take it you found out something?" Robin inquired, interested in what his friend had been doing for the last few hours.

"From what I've found out, both Armand and Brian have been on the Parisian council for years, and nothing about their profiling suggests anything sinister. Beaumont has been one to criticise superheroes as far back as the nineties, when he was merely a small time politician at the bottom of the barrel." he explained as he shared his findings to Robin and Batman, who looked them over.

"Seems both are merely simple politicians fighting for the role of mayor. This still is something that we have to worry about. The Light could assassinate either of them and put an agent in charge." Batman said in deeply, taking in all he was looking at.

"Just because we can't find anything about their history on the internet, open to the public, doesn't mean they haven't done anything wrong. Not everything gets documented on the internet, like you as Batman." Robin pointed out in a knowing tone, getting a nod from his mentor.

"Very true to that. It is worrying of everything we've learnt, as its uncertain if any of this could've been planned by the Light or not. I'm not ruling out an assassination but I know what grief can do to someone who loved their family deeply." Batman replied, his words all too clear at what he referencing as he turned back to the computer, his masked eyes sharp as he had a thousand thoughts going through his head.

"This is something I'm partially responsible for. If I took that phone away from Chloe, none of this would've happened. And such pressure of politics shouldn't be something Marinette or Adrien should be subjected to. No matter what I do, it always has a ripple effect. For all we know, the Light will try to take the Miraculouses, just like Joker and Darkseid, taking advantage of this and using those powers of good for evil." he said in slight misery, feeling guilty at all that was going on in Paris.

Kaldur put his hand on the vigilante's shoulder, giving him a understanding look.

"None of us could've foreseen this. It wasn't your fault the Riddler chose to attack Paris. The best we can do now is contact Ladybug and Chat Noir to alert them of what's going on. Try and stay a step ahead." he advised, with Robin nodding.

"It's best we go over there and tell them of what's going on, they don't have to handle this alone. The last thing they need is the rug being pulled from under them and getting turned into outcasts." he pointed out with a smile, "And like Kaldur said, it wasn't your fault this happened. The Light would've tried something even if Chloe survived, so we'd still have a similar conversation right now." he reminded the dark clad genius, who stared at him in slight confusion, wondering just what wise power came over the boy's mind.

"Plus, you put a lot of money and effort into tightening the control of Arkham Asylum following the Joker getting the Miraculouses. The best way of improving our ways is learning from the past." Kaldur added to him, his voice wise and thoughtful on Batman's own feelings of the situation.

A small, solemn smile came onto the billionaire's face, seeing where they were coming from.

"Very true." he said as he fully turned to them, "Ready your team, you'll leave tomorrow. I'll arrange for the hotel you'll be staying in, it's the one I went to when I went there. I'll message Adrien in advance of your arrival, so he can pass on the information to his carer and Marinette so they can meet you." he told the two of them.

"This also isn't a simple black ops mission. You will be plain clothed for the time you'll be there. Keep your outfits and gear hidden, try to behave normally too." he advised, getting a nod from Kaldur.

"I'll make sure to remind them of that, Batman, especially Bart" he said lightly, knowing well he'd have to talk things over with the speedster like a supervising adult.

"Very good." Batman replied as the two turned away from him, though he wasn't done yet.

"Tim, just a minute" he called, getting the attention of his Robin, who came back to him. Robin frowned, knowing it was gonna be some extra advice now, for Batman did this most of the time.

"I want you and the others to behave well with Ladybug and Chat Noir. With all they've been through, I expect you to treat them maturely and sensibly." he told him, his voice a lot more serious this time.

Robin smiled, understanding his mentor.

"We will. From what we've learnt, they don't need some cockiness or jokes about what's happened. We'll be good." he said, as if he was going to take care of a playgroup.

"I know you will. I can always rely on you Tim." Batman acknowledged.

"Did I hear that correctly or did you just compliment me?" the young sidekick sneered.

Batman only smirked in response. He was used to his young protégée's sense of humour and a part of him even appreciated it as it made his life as Gotham's protector just that little less dark and grim.

"Get your team together and get ready to leave." he ordered, "The sooner you all get to Paris, the better."

And there it was again, business as usual. Robin was used to that and he'd learned to live with it. At least with his team, he didn't have to be so blunt and straight-forward. He turned to leave the cave with Kaldur'ahm walking beside him. As they left, a few questions were still burning in Tim's mind. Was Andre's death really because of grief? Were Andre and Brian really so innocent? And why did Brian's name sound familiar to him? There was something about it that wasn't settling well with him, like it reminded him of an old enemy of some sorts. Hopefully the answers would come once he and his team arrived in Paris...

* * *

"And how are you today, Psimon?"

"Could be better if you want the honest answer."

"That's too bad. I may have to give you some all new injuries to recover from unless you can explain how you managed to lose an entire compound to those young brats!"

Psimon gritted his teeth as he took in the lecture from his visitor, resisting the enormous urge he had to reach out into her mind and make her head explode with his own powers.

All hadn't been well since his escape from the compound a few days back. He'd been lying in a medical room, recovering from his injuries and hadn't been able to do much of anything, just lie there swimming in his never-ending ocean of thoughts while seeing who he could eavesdrop on with his telepathy. Even when bedbound, he couldn't resist seeing what juicy information he could pluck from people. As a telepath, he couldn't help himself. And now things had decided to take a more sour mood as one of the Light's founding members had come to give him a verbal dressing down for his recent failure. Said member was none other than Bialya's beautiful but cruel dictator, the one who called herself Queen Bee.

She was a dark-skinned woman clad in a sleeveless grey dress, a transparent cape that resemble bee wings and a golden crown that emphasized her royal position in the Bialyan government. She was extremely attractive, but only on the outside. Anyone who knew her personally would say she was anything but beautiful on the inside. What made her such a terrifying threat for the superheroes of the world was her uncanny ability to mind-control others with only a command. It worked well on men and could also compel some women to her control too. Many suspected that was how she'd managed to gain control of Bialya in the first place, though Queen Bee would never admit as such.

"It wasn't my fault that YOUR men were so incompetent that they couldn't keep the threat away from me!" Psimon retorted, sitting up in his bed, "You promised me that Bialya had the best men to offer and they were utterly useless! The power was taken out and the first thing those idiots did was panic, so if you're going to take umbrage, I suggest you give your men a piece of your mind and not me!"

"I wouldn't have thought the "world's greatest telepath" would be so reliant on his minions anyway." Queen Bee snapped, "One would assume you could've handled those children yourself."

"I would if your men's panicking hadn't distracted me when I was trying to find the intruders!" Psimon yelled.

"The Martian girl wouldn't have had such trouble if she'd been in your place." the Bialyan queen muttered, "And besides, it's entirely down to you that your computer was hacked into Psimon. Didn't it occur to you to take the stolen data back from them before you fled?"

"I had to move fast to avoid capture, I didn't have time to consider the options!" the telepath cried.

"And because of that, our mission could well be compromised!" Queen Bee screeched, "They'll know we're plotting to attack Paris next and no doubt they'll warn the heroes of that city about said attack! We could end up with not just the team, but also Paris's protectors to deal with! I swear if your telepathy wasn't too great, I'd order you to walk off a cliff!"

"Calm yourself Queen Bee. As unfortunate as Psimon's blunder is, you know full well that the Light doesn't let failure sully its plans in anyway. We work around our mishaps, not allow them to destroy us."

The deep, booming voice seemed to come from everywhere in the room. Queen Bee and Psimon turned to see the very man that had founded the Light and made it the far-reaching, deep-rooted organization that it had blossomed into over the years. He was a beast of a man with a muscle structure that didn't seem humanly possible. Despite his brutal appearance and scarred face, he was very well-dressed and had a dignified look to him with his neatly-trimmed beard and his black military-esque uniform with a gold medallion settled on his great chest. His eyes were like death, devoid of any warmth and like the eyes of a demon. The man had had many names over his long, long life. But to the Light, he was known only as...

"Vandal Savage." Queen Bee acknowledged, "Such a pleasure to see you. I hadn't expected you to come over."

"I'm never one to turn down the chance to see the light in our dark hours." Savage purred as he strode up to them. The way he moved radiated power and authority, like he wanted people to know who was in charge whenever he walked into a room. He cast his eyes down onto Psimon, empty with no sympathy towards the telepath, yet there was that ever present strength in them that matched his stature and movement.

"You didn't reveal too much about who we had in mind for Paris in our communications, did you?" Vandal asked calmly, yet a pressing tone was clear in his voice.

Psimon shook his head.

"Even I know it's best we be obscure in referencing our allies, no names were given. Even then, it'll be too late to make our move." he grumbled in his explanation, only for Vandal to raise a finger to emphasize his next words.

"You forget the key point of the Light; we adapt. As I have for centuries, the best way of going forward with your plan is making a few changes. While the loved up heroes of that city have gone up against Joker and Darkseid, they don't seem that bright to notice the pulling of strings in the background. Something I'm ready to use." he explained as he was then joined by a small floating metallic sphere.

Queen Bee couldn't help but smile in admiration at their leader, though there was a slightly questionable look to it.

"Then do tell us how you plan to pull these strings, Vandal. If it will benefit us, then you must share." she pointed out to him in a rather matter of fact voice, earning a nod from him as the sphere projected an image to him.

"The Light works in large numbers, my Queen, you know that well. And with that, we have agents." he replied as the holographic image took form of a well built Asian woman with a slightly dark skin colour, her hair dark and long that reached down to her shoulders, sporting what seemed to look like a red leather trench coat with bare shoulder holes. Her eyes were cold and somewhat threatening, as if she could murder you with just a stare. The rest of her body wasn't shown due to the size the hologram was taking up. She offered a chilling smile that only made Vandal smile in admiration.

"I trust you have been laying low, Lady Shiva?" he inquired, his tone like a true gentlemen's, to which she nodded.

"It certainly is. The base you provided us is suitable for our operation, including the chance to continue the training of the soldiers you so eagerly need." she said to the ancient human, who beamed contently.

"That is good. With you being made aware of Psimon's failures, I'm sure you did well with our little scouting plan. Any news?"

"The mayor's death is already having an effect on the city." Shiva reported, "My agent eavesdropped on a group of children who are already showing concerns for how the mayor's death will affect their lives and maybe even affect the city's superheroes. They still show a strong belief in said heroes though, probably the strongest belief out of all of Paris."

"Is there anything significant about those children?" Savage inquired.

"Only that they appear to be students at the same school the mayor's daughter went to." Shiva explained, "Most interesting is the fact one of the kids in that group is Adrien Agreste, the son of the man who called himself Hawk Moth."

That made Vandal raise an eyebrow with interest.

"I'd have thought that boy would never show his face in public again..." he purred, "Less so that anyone would want to be around him. I want your agent to find out more about these children. Any checks on them could dig up interesting information we could potentially use."

"I'll send her on her way immediately." the master martial artist replied, "Though I'm not sure what use a bunch of children could be to the Light."

"You know as well as I that children are easiest in making the best weapons, as well as the easiest in destroying their faith." the immortal man declared, "Paris has many potential weapons for us from the victims of Hawk Moth's powers to the city's own heroes. Weapons we can use."

Shiva nodded in agreement.

"I'll inform you if my agent finds out anything useful." she concluded.

"That is good." Vandal said pleasantly, though he raised his finger again, "Though I do suggest you be prepared as well. Our new ally is starving for information on these souls. Best you inform your agent to keep herself in check due to her rebellious nature. I'd hate to have her taught a harsh lesson." he warned as a pair of claws tapped against the floor with each footstep, a large shadow looming over Vandal as the newcomer joined him, his teeth bared into a grin that didn't change. His eyes were masked by a red visor of some sort, his tatty cloak doing little to hide his hideous body while his scythe sat above his head.

The Asian woman nodded, not at all intimidated by the presence of the creature.

"I'll make sure of it. Over and out, Vandal." she said in a normal voice, before her hologram flickered away.

Queen Bee and Psimon couldn't help but cringe at the sight of the cloaked creature, for he gave off a slight smell that was sour and chilling. His voice only added to it when he talked to the leader.

**"She mentioned children...I would be glad to corrupt their souls, to make them suffer for eternity for you to use as the best of soldiers."** he said in a deep voice that sounded like it was scraping against metal.

Vandal turned to him with a smile, his eyes beaming.

"You will feast on whoever we choose, my dear ancient friend. Your powers are certainly something special, something we value. Just remain patient." he said to the winged creature, who chuckled.

"That I will. But make sure it will be soon, Vandal, for my hunger for souls is something I desire the most in lost." he replied, getting a nod from the ancient man.

"We understand that well, Harvest." he said before looking to Queen Bee and Psimon.

"Key lesson to today's meeting: we continue our plan. We just make some changes, something I'm sure you're fine with doing." he told them, to which Queen Bee bowed to him.

"That we do. To learn from your words of strength is always a pleasure, Ancient One." she said politely, her voice full of respect for him.

"That I agree with." Psimon added, making Vandal smile somewhat proudly, his eyes gleaming to see the power he had in his voice still had its way with his associates. The Light was far from finished with its work. It was just starting...

* * *

The day itself had presented a somber but warm feeling. The Parisian friends had hung out, reflecting on their favourite hobbies and entertaining themselves with card games, the little races they had continued with Alix on her roller skates, Kim on his skateboard, though some couldn't help but continue to talk about Chloe and her dad. They all started to ask Adrien what he was like when he grew up. Adrien shared some history with them, like how he was once a passionate architect and often had late night meals with his parents to talk of his plans. Adrien admitted he could've gone for that and made quite a career out of it, if his wife was still on board before she left.

"Yeah...what was her mom like? None of us ever saw her." Marinette asked her boyfriend as she, him, Alya and Nino arrived back at Master Fu's, the sun setting now that the evening was coming. Adrien hummed and looked unsure, getting a look from Nino.

"What? Was she a bit of a nightmare?" he asked near casually, which gotten a sigh and nod from his friend.

"Yeah, to put it simply. If you thought Andre or Chloe were bossy, Audrey took the cake. Just be glad none of you met her. She kinda scared me..." he admitted, cringing at the memory of the woman.

Marinette grimaced, not wanting to picture such a frightening person. Then again, she'd met worse.

"Could explain some things, I guess...you think she'll come to the funeral?" she asked, getting a shrug her boyfriend.

"Don't know. From what Chloe told me, her mom never really cared for her. She only kept in contact to remind Chloe how better off she was without her." he said bitterly, getting a gasp out of all his friends. Even Alya looked horrified to hear this.

"Gosh, what kind of a mother would say that to their kid!? Again, never liked Chloe, but even she didn't deserve it!" she yelled, not sure how to picture such a thing with any child.

"If she ever does come, she'll just say some uncool stuff. If she does, I'll toss my hat at her like a frisbee, no one should talk of their kids like that!" Nino said in agreement, already planning to try and humiliate such a cruel person.

"That's if she even comes at all. If she cared so little, she doesn't have any reason to come." Adrien pointed out.

Everyone groaned, not understanding how anyone could be that cruel about their child. Now Marinette had a bleaker picture of Chloe's childhood in her mind. But Adrien was quick to change the subject.

"Still...I'll be getting ready for the funeral in my own way. Guess you guys will be shopping for it." he stated, getting a nod from Nino.

"Never wore a suit in my life. Was hoping I'd buy one for the prom though, not for this." he said glumly, getting a sympathetic look from his girlfriend.

"You can always buy a separate one, honey." she suggested, getting a smile out of him at the suggestion.

"I might do too. If mama is willing to help me choose the right size." Marinette said, though Alya smiled.

"You don't need your mom to tell you the size you need, you're an expert in that yourself." she reminded, getting a slight smile out of her. Nino patted Adrien's back as he removed his hood, feeling safe enough to remove it.

"If you want to hop by tomorrow, you're more than welcome, dude." he assured, getting a beam in return.

"I know. I'll see what plans I have" he said, winking at Marinette, who's cheeks lit up in response.

"Guess we'll be seeing you at some point then. Take care of yourself, Adrien." Alya said, patting his arm, following with a hug from Nino, who waved to Marinette after she got a hug from Alya, who walked off with him, leaving just the two. Marinette shyly looked at her toes and then up at Adrien, who smiled down at her.

"If you, uh, want to come over mine in the night, you know my door will be open." she pointed out to him. Adrien could only beam at his girlfriend, taking her hands in his.

"You know I will. Keep an eye on that watch when it hits nine." he winked, getting a giggle out of Marinette, seeing the light really returned to him despite all that was going on today.

"I'll be waiting for you, my kitty." she said quietly, leaning in closely to him to feel their warm breath mixing in with each other, which gave her the chance to giving him a long kiss on the lips. Adrien felt electrified by it and his toes split a little, feeling like he was in heaven for a second. Marinette continued on, feeling her hands over his back as he took hold of her little waist, her chest feeling his heartbeat speed up at their passionate move.

They just didn't know they were still being eyed by the Japanese girl, who stood to the far dark side of the street, recording everything through her phone. The little light of wonder crept in her mind again, for watching the two interact, she couldn't help but wonder what such things were going through them. A slight pang of coldness came over her chest.

"Looks like I missed out on a lot. I really need time off. If they ever let me..." she thought to herself as she continued to eye the two.

She stopped recording and disappeared into the shadows of the night, displaying a true act of proper ninja stealth abilities that she'd learned over the years. The Japanese girl couldn't help but think about the blue-haired girl with Adrian, Marinette her name appeared to be. How did somebody as common as her manage to win the heart of a millionaire's kid? And why did she seem so familiar to her? It was like she was some lost relative to her in a way. But why? She couldn't be, could she?

All she knew is that she had a feeling she'd be keeping a very close eye on both Marinette and Adrian. It was possible that there was more to the couple than met the eye...

* * *

_**So the mayor is dead and Marinette's friends are already planning for any potential bad outcomes. It also seems that Young Justice are coming to Paris and the Light is preparing to make its move. What will happen when the two parties come together in the French city? And how will Marinette and Adrian feel about meeting new heroes and villains? And who is the Japanese girl that's spying on them? **_

_**All these things and more next time in this crossover epic as the mayor's funeral is held and things start coming together...**_


	3. Chapter 2: A Final Goodbye

_Chapter 2: A Final Goodbye_

It hadn't taken long for Young Justice to get to Paris. Once Tim had briefed everybody on the mission, they had been quick to pack up and leave in the Bio-ship, knowing it'd be the fastest way to get there. Its cloaking abilities would make sure they could slip into the country without being noticed so they would thankfully bypass all the irritating little things that get in the way like passport control and airport security. Once they'd arrived, they touched down in front of Hotel Le Louis, the same hotel that Batman had stayed in in his visit to Paris back during the Riddler's attack and the Bio-ship had quickly shapeshifted into its van disguise it often sported back home. Sitting in the carpark like any normal vehicle, it would look as if the people who owned it had come to stop by at the hotel for a day or two, nothing suspicious whatsoever. They had no chance of being found out.

Tim and his team found their room, which was also the same room that Bruce had stayed in. The beautiful wallpapers, pristine interior and large windows providing an excellent view of Paris weren't anything new for Tim. Living with Bruce, he'd grown used to being surrounded by luxury and staying in fancy hotels and apartments. Steph was just the same, but enjoyed getting to see the view of Paris outside the windows. Kaldur was impressed, eyeing the entire room as if trying to commit it to memory.

"It never ceases to amaze me what the surface world can build." the Atlantean murmured.

"Batman really doesn't kid around when he says his superpower is being rich!" Bart cried, zipping around everywhere at once to look over the room.

"Yeah, that's probably the most super thing about him." Tim agreed.

"I'd say the view outside is pretty super as well." Steph added, casting her eyes over the City of Love through the huge window.

Of course, the team knew they had more important things to do then admire the scenery. A couple of days later, the team had fully settled in to the hotel and Tim had decided to contact Bruce to let him know what had been happening. It was the day of the funeral itself so now was a good time to contact his mentor. He got his laptop out and switched it on. The laptop came into life and the screen was filled with Bruce's face, looking as stern and serious as ever.

"I take it you've all settled in well?" he asked.

"Almost." Tim said, half-smiling, "Bart's still feeling lively but we're trying to keep him calm."

"How can anyone expect me to be calm when we're sitting around waiting for something to happen?!" the speedster complained, "Nothing's happened since we got here and we haven't even met Ladybug and Cat Noir yet! When do we get to meet them?!"

"Bart, take it easy." M'gann said hastily, putting her hands on his shoulders, "There's a lot of misery in Paris after the mayor's death so you've gotta be more considerate."

Bart sighed but he said nothing, knowing that the Martian girl was right.

"Even so, time is not on our hands and neither is it on Ladybug and Chat Noir. Have you got into contact with the latter yet, Bruce?" Kaldur asked as he joined the side of Tim. Bruce shook his head slightly.

"Not a word. I can only guess he's been preoccupied with the funerals to focus on answering my messages." he replied, slightly frustrated at having to tell them this.

"Well, you know you can text him, right? These guys always have their phones on them, one little buzz on his phone, he's got the message." Conner pointed out, sounding very matter of fact about his suggestion.

"I've been finding his new number. He had to get a new phone after he was interrogated by the police. Thanks to Constantine, I've found it. I'll have to keep the message brief with it being on the phone" Bruce replied to the hybrid, who raised an eyebrow.

"Wow, slightly behind this time? That's something." he said quietly.

"I guess we'll have to wait until the end of the day, huh?" Steph then asked, more to Tim than to Bruce. Her boyfriend gave her a nod.

"Sure seems like it. Funerals do take a long time and we need to give them at least until the end of the day. If they don't come, we'll go to them." he stated, earning a sigh from Bruce.

"That could be the only option if Adrien doesn't get my text. I hate to intrude on him, but he needs to know." he said bitterly, knowing well it wouldn't be what the former rich kid wanted.

Steph, however, felt a spark click in her head that made her smile in interest as she looked over to M'Gann, who caught her look.

"There's always a second option, you know..." she pointed out, getting a disapproving look from the Martian girl.

"No. I'm not up for breaking and entering, Steph!" she said in a dismissive tone that sounded like a girl trying to sound grown up, not helping with her voice showing her young age. This got everyone's attention, looking at Steph with raised eyebrows.

"Are we missing something?" Conner asked, not sure how to take what was going on. M'Gann tutted and pointed an accusing finger at Steph.

"She wants to break and enter into a building, with me as her accomplice! I can read minds, remember?" she yelled at the blonde girl, who got an angry look from Conner.

"You just don't know how to stay out of trouble, do you?" he said in frustration, not liking what Steph had planned. She put up a sheepish smile and waved a defensive hand.

"Hey, whoever said BREAKING and entering? In M'Gann's case, she doesn't have to break in, she can just slide in, unnoticed. And look, it could be another way of getting their attention." she offered, looking at the rest of her friends. Bruce couldn't help but slightly smile, interest clear on his face.

"I'm actually interested in what you're proposing, Steph. Please tell." he requested.

Steph smiled more normally and pulled a purple card with an S on it from her pocket.

"Let's just say it's about dropping a spoiler at a nice bakery." she winked, her idea clear to see for everyone...with Tim giving an admiring smile to his girlfriend, hinting he was all for it.

* * *

The mood was less joyful in Master Fu's though. Looking at himself in the mirror of his bedroom, Adrien felt a tight feeling in his chest that was sour and left goosebumps on his arms as it hit him with what he was going to do. He was wearing a black tie, white shirt, black trousers and shoes with only his hoodie that didn't match with the rest of the outfit he was wearing. He was a little glum as he looked at himself in the mirror, not noticing Plagg floating next to him with a concerned look on his face.

"Hey...just remember, everyone else will be there, pal. They'll wait for you." he reminded softly, getting a little sad smile out of him.

"I know Plagg, but it just doesn't feel right that I have to hide away while everybody else gets to pay their respects to Chloe and Andre." Adrian sighed, "It almost feels like the funeral's going on without me. If I could just join the crowd like everybody else, it'd feel more right."

"If I were you, I'd just be glad that I can go at all!" Plagg chirped, trying to find a bright side to the situation, "I mean, wouldn't you feel even worse if you couldn't be there period?"

Adrien nodded, realizing Plagg had a point. He would've felt as if he'd missed an important time to say goodbye to old childhood friends if he hadn't been able to attend the funeral as a whole.

"You're right Plagg. I really shouldn't mope and be grateful I can be there." Adrian said, his face perking up slightly, "It's the least I owe Chloe and Andre that I can be there to see them off."

"There you go buddy!" the feline Kwami piped, "It's a good thing you got me to pick you up when you're down, isn't it?"

The blonde boy beamed in agreement. As much of a pest Plagg could be with his mischievous antics and love of camembert, he couldn't be happier to have the little Kwami with him. He always seemed to be able to bring him up when he was at his most solemn. What would he do without him and Marinette in his life to make the world seem less dark and unforgiving to him? Adrian was about to reply to Plagg until somebody walked in. He and Plagg both turned to see Master Fu walking towards them both, his ancient face more serious than Adrian had ever seen it before. He ran his old eyes over the boy as if trying to spot a flaw in his outfit.

"You look very smart my boy." he commented, "Just right for the funeral."

"Thanks sir." Adrian replied, "But you're not here just to comment on my appearance are you?"

"Just as sharp as ever!" Master Fu cried with admiration, "I knew I picked the right person to bear the Cat Ring that day!"

The French teen just smiled modestly.

"Yes Adrian, you are correct." the Miraculous Keeper explained, "I'm not just here for that. I just wanted to say that I'll need to talk with both you and Marinette when you've said your farewells to the Bourgeois's. Don't forget that." he finished sharply as if he couldn't stress that point enough.

"We won't, but why do you need to talk to us?" Adrian asked.

"It's important. I'll give all the details when the funeral is over." Fu said bluntly.

Adrian had a feeling he wasn't going to get much more out of the short man. He nodded in acceptance.

"We'll come right to you when everything's over." he promised.

"That's my boy." Fu said happily, "Now then, we best be on our way. We don't want to be late."

"Even though I pretty much have to..." Adrian muttered.

The two left the room with Plagg hiding in Adrian's hoodie pocket.

* * *

It is a common cliché in movies that a funeral scene would be depicted as grey, dark and rainy, a common tactic to emphasize how miserable the scene itself is to the audience. This funeral was not like that. While the sky was cloudy and grey, it wasn't dark and there was no rain at all. A few streaks of sunlight broke through the clouds as if providing Andre and Chloe a stairway to heaven now the time had come for them to leave this world and move onto the next. The cemetery was huge and full of tombstones that somehow managed to look pristine and new despite many of them being hundreds of years old. It was as if nature itself didn't want to desecrate these graves and wanted to leave them looking nice for the visitors.

A huge crowd had gathered around to pay their respects to Andre and Chloe. There was enough people here to fill a house, yet Marinette doubted that many of them were people Chloe knew personally. She even wondered if Andrew knew them outside of their political careers. There were all sorts of guests at the funeral from political figures to foreign ambassadors that were clearly here because of their political relationships with Andre Bourgeois and not because they were actual friends of his. Maybe they were here just for the publicity and to get good PR from the public. At least some actual friends of Andre and Chloe's were here, and Marinette could tell which ones were which since the ones who knew the two personally were the ones actually crying over them and showing actual emotions, unlike the politicians who were stone-faced and professional. Did politicians ever show actual emotions aside from annoyance that people have an opinion they don't share? Would any of these people cry at their own funerals for their loved ones? Marinette sincerely doubted it.

She was stood with her friends, all huddled together in one big group that stood separately from the political guests and the Bourgeois family. Alya and Alix's parents were with them, both standing with their hands on their daughter's shoulders as if to reassure them, or themselves, that everything would be fine. Adrian was the only one not with them, standing near a wall around the cemetery so that he wouldn't be noticed. His hood was pulled so far over his face that his vision was half obscured by it as if the top of the world had gone dark and the bottom hadn't. He still watched on as the funeral opened up with the vicar reciting the usual words that always seemed to be said at a funeral.

"Today we're gathered here to bless the departure of our Mayor Andrew Bourgeois and his daughter, Miss Chloe Bourgeois, a father and daughter whose lives have been taken away far too soon." the vicar read, "We're here to remember the good times and the bad times that have been had with this family and remember them for what they are. Andre was a patriotic man whose love for the country could only be matched by the love for his daughter. A proud political figure and a devoted father. He will be missed."

There was a moment of silence as the guests took this in. Members of the Bourgeois family began to cry harder than they had done. Even Marinette couldn't help but shed a tear, feeling the sorrow that they shared. Funerals were sad occasions, even if you didn't know or like the person that had died. She glanced over briefly at Adrian to see how he was taking it. He too was shedding a few tears for the deceased father and daughter. Marinette understood, as did the rest of her friends. Adrian probably knew the two better than everybody in the cemetery did. The vicar was about to continue until somebody interrupted.

"Hey, I'm not late to the funeral am I?!" cried a voice that made everybody's heads turn in surprise.

They turned their heads back to the end of the aisle to see a tall woman standing there, with fair greying hair, a grey hat and a matching dress that covered her whole body. She wore a pair of sunglasses on her face, hiding whatever eyes she had behind them. She had a handbag hanging closely to her from her shoulder, a somewhat unnerving look on her face with her mouth open and revealing she was somewhat grinning sheepishly. She strutted her way up the aisle towards the front row. Everyone frowned at the sight of this woman, wondering why she was behaving in such a way. The Bourgeois relatives glared at her in disgust, leaving everyone speaking hushed whispers about her while the politicians groaned in frustration.

Marinette was also confused, frowning at her as she shoved into a space at the front near her parents. She looked to where her boyfriend was hiding and she saw his tearful face was wide in horror and fear. It clicked right into Marinette for her to realise who this was, for Adrien's reaction was enough for her. The vicar cleared his throat, trying to stay polite with his voice.

"Madame, I would've preferred it if you didn't raise your voice at such a level during this time. You should've come more quietly." he pointed out to her, only for the woman to glare at him with her eyes slightly visible behind her sunglasses, narrowed into a vicious look.

"Excuse me, your reverence, but you should know who I am! I am Audrey Bourgeois, and I can make myself known at any place, especially at a funeral!" she yelled, making everyone gasp at the loud mouth statement by her.

Alya's mother grimaced and whispered to Alix's.

"She has to ruin everything. She always made things stressful when I was at the hotel." she whispered angrily, frustrated that the woman didn't change while Alix nudged Alya.

"That's Chloe's mom? She's more ugly than I thought." she whispered, getting a nod from the Martiquen girl.

"Yup. Chloe clearly didn't adopt her skinny figure though." she whispered back, not liking the look of the woman.

From where he was, Adrien lowered his head to avoid getting seen by the woman, with Plagg sliding out of his pocket.

"I got a look at her. No wonder she gave you nightmares." he whispered, just only having a sigh in response, for Adrien knew Audrey was gonna open her mouth even more.

The vicar again cleared his voice, nodding in a respectful manner.

"My condolences for your loss, Mrs Bourgeoise. May I proceed?" he asked in a tone that was clearly trying not to get angry at her.

The woman nodded, waving her hand at him.

"Do as you must but make it quick. I wish to say some words." she said bluntly, no other emotion in her voice.

The vicar continued the service. A few minutes later, he'd said everything he needed to say and now he stepped back to let the guests say whatever parting words they had for the Bourgeoises. Audrey seemed keen to have her say first for she stepped forward quickly before anybody else could go first. Adrian watched with venom in his eyes, already expecting the woman to say something awful and spoil the funeral. His expectations were met when Audrey gave her speech:

"My darling daughter. You were a failure at pretty much everything in life. I'm not surprised given who your father was." Audrey said with no emotion on her face, "It's no wonder you had to abuse your power to get your way in life. If there was anything I could've done differently in my life, it would've been to improve you. You had so much potential and it was wasted away by your father just pampering you and spoiling you like the idiotic oaf he was! I would give anything to have you back Chloe, so I could give you a better life and make you a better person. I'd have made you strong, not like your father where he just gave up because he lost you! He was weak, he was always weak! Unlike him, I won't give up. I'm going to spend every waking hour I have making sure that your killer suffers for what he did to you! It still horrifies me that that wonderful Gabriel Agreste and his lovely boy Adrian weren't as innocent as they seemed. They deserve to suffer for their part in your death Chloe! But as much as I blame them for what happened to you...you only did it to yourself."

The silence that followed the speech was long. Too long in fact. It was as if the speech was so horrible that nobody could think of anything to say. Adrian had simply looked away, unable to look at the woman that dared to call herself Chloe's mother. Marinette's face was twisted into a scowl of hatred, a face she didn't like having. She'd never felt so much hatred for a person in her life. Not even Darkseid had earned her scorn this much! She was so angry that she acted without even thinking about it.

"Get out of here you horrible witch!" she screamed, fury flowing through her. It was just as well she had enough self-control to keep herself from violently attacking the woman right there.

Audrey's head snapped around, staring at Marinette as if she'd said something offensive to her.

"Who the hell do you think you are talking to ME like that you little brat?!" she snarled, looking as if she wanted to storm up to her and slap her across the face.

"Don't you dare go near that child!" yelled one of the relatives, "She's right! You're not welcome here!"

"Especially after what you just said!" yelled another.

"Get out of here! This is a gathering for people who actually care, unlike you!"

"Chloe and Andre deserve better than you belittling them like that!"

Even the vicar had no patience for Audrey. He fixed her with a gaze of steel, not the kind of expression a kindly vicar would usually wear. He was still offended over Audrey daring to say the word "hell" at a cemetery.

"I think you'd better leave madam." he said coldly, "You're causing a lot of discomfort among the guests."

Audrey wanted to argue, that Marinette could tell from the look on her face. But she didn't dare, not when so many people were angry at her and that she'd accomplish nothing. She turned on her heels and flounced out of the cemetery without another word. Marinette watched her go, anger still flaring through her veins. Alya patted her shoulder with an approving smile on her face.

"You go girl." she whispered, "I think Chloe would've liked that."

That was something to think about. Chloe actually LIKING something she did! Marinette wasn't sure whether that was incredible or awkward. She just kept herself quiet as the funeral continued, everybody acting as if Audrey had never been here at all. Adrien felt a weight come off his chest, as if his heart stopped beating for a little while. He was glad to see Audrey had left, though he was frightened for a second Marinette was going to get belted across the face by the vicious woman, that would've changed the funeral for he would've stepped in to see her off. He honestly didn't care what she said about him, he was just disgusted with what she said about Chloe and her father and that she even dared to yell at his girlfriend. He watched on with her body losing its tension, seeing her resting back against her mother who smoothed her shoulders.

He just didn't notice a man with a slightly bulky bald head watching on with a slight smirk, amused by what just occurred. Given he was in the crowd, he was hard to get seen by others outside of the crowds.

It wasn't long until speeches were being given by a select few. Sabrina was one of them, helped up by her father, Roger, who kept close to her just in case. Sabrina read out her speech, with some difficulty.

"Um...okay...Chloe, you...you were many things to a lot of people. Some liked you, some didn't. For me, you were always strange to me but in a good way. You were the first friend I made at school, you told me not to let people upset me about my glasses or the jumpers I'd wear and to just stick with you. Yeah, you got me to do your homework, you were harsh with me, but you made me feel like I meant something, that I was better than what I gave myself credit for. I wish I steered you in the right direction and spoke up more, but I can't. I just hope you're up there, wanting to give me some guidance to make me less of a freak in everyone's eyes. Rest in peace, Chloe. You deserve it."

She sniffled and sighed, leaving everyone stunned at how straightforward and honest she was with her speech. She got an admirable smile from her classmates as she was taken away by her dad.

"Glad to see a better form of honesty from someone." Max said to Kim, who nodded in agreement.

It wasn't long until a few other speeches were given, one by Jean, the other by Andre's relatives, with another by Alya's mother. Jean stated he found working for Andre the most fun and tiring of his life, stating such feelings were to remember and love as achievements, for working with such a light and funny man like Andre was a pleasure, while stating Chloe was a ball of energy he loved looking after. Andre's relatives stated that they were proud of him for his achievements and spoke of his childhood desires for something they laughed off but became proud of. Lastly was Alya's mother, who spoke of great pleasure of being offered a job at the hotel and working under him, for he paid well and was a lover of the food she made, something she loved doing for others. These speeches were enough to send a warm wet feeling over everyone, for so much kindness was offered to a man they thought very little of, plus hearing so much of what the two did as children left nothing but a nicer imagination of the two than what they used to have. It was something so many wished they shared with the class if Chloe ever turned out different...

It wasn't long until the crowds began to get smaller, with their respectful roses laid by the headstones and returning to their cars to drive home. Some of the parents stayed, talking closely amongst themselves. Marinette approached her mother with Alya and Lila by her side, with the Italian girl's parents standing closely to their daughter with sharp looks, not up for leaving her out of sight. Sabine noticed the girls so she turned to them.

"Is everything okay, Marinette?" she asked softly. The blue haired girl nodded, smiling only a small one at her.

"Yeah, still kinda tensed up. We were just wondering if my friends could come back to our home? Just to talk in our own way?" she asked softly. Sabine could only smile, showing she already made up her mind.

"That's okay, my dear. You can have them all over. For so long they behave." she said warmly, much to Lila's satisfaction as she turned to her parents.

"There, see! You don't have to worry about me!" she exaggerated, getting a sigh from her dad.

"Very well, my darling. Just so long as you're back by nine." he said sternly before giving Sabine a smile.

"I trust my daughter will be in good company" he said in a glad tone, getting a nod from the Chinese woman.

"Indeed she will." she said in response. With that, Lila's parents began to make their way out of the cemetery, with some of the parents leaving to the gates.

With the leaving crowds, Master Fu slipped through it at this point, passing by Marinette closely as Alya spoke to Lila so no one noticed. He whispered in her ear.

"I'll meet you at your home. I wish to talk with you and Adrien, it's something of great importance." he said quietly before sneaking off towards the gates. Marinette watched him in confusion as to what he meant, guessing it was something she had to get ready for.

Alya turned to Marinette with a slight smile.

"Looks like they're going. Prince Charming can come out of his hiding spot soon." she said softly, getting a beam out of Marinette.

"Yup. Just hope he didn't get upset by what Audrey said." she pointed out, her smile fading slightly, only for Alya to pat her back.

"He's gotten stronger lately, I'm sure he didn't let it bother him." she assured her, leaving the blue haired girl smiling slightly.

It was then they were joined by Nino and a few of their other friends.

"Marinette girl, that was some fire you gave that woman! Didn't think anyone would say anything to her!" Nino praised.

"Yeah. I didn't think Chloe's own mother would be that disrespectful, especially about her husband. Nice you stood up to her." Juleka said with great respect for Marinette, though there was a hint of disdain for Audrey.

"She certainly seemed like something out of a nightmare." Nathanael said bitterly, not liking the woman one bit.

Marinette sighed, giving them something of a frustrated look.

"I just needed to say something. Yeah, Chloe was horrible, but she didn't deserve this at her funeral, especially what she said about her dad. Hope I don't have to see such a person again." she said, not believing such a parent could be that cruel.

"Just glad she ain't sticking around. My dude is over there waiting to come out." Nino stated, pointing over to where Adrien was hiding. Alya nodded with him.

"He won't have to wait for long" she assured, seeing the crowds were nearly gone. They just had to get ready for what he'd have to say in his speech.

* * *

Some people were, however, wanting to get to the bakery more early, for their own reasons. Something Steph was glad to have gotten underway.

It was strange in a way to be wearing her trademark costume during the day as the Spoiler was used to operating at night back in Gotham. Naturally, even in daytime she still had to be in disguise as it was much easier to get spotted and recognized when everybody could see you clearly. Finding the bakery had been a cinch for her as Batman already knew the address and had provided it for her. As fun as this kind of thing was for her, she still felt a little guilty over the fact she was technically trespassing in someone's house, and not just anyone's house but a TEENAGE GIRL's house at that! How would anyone feel if they took THAT out of context? She had to remind herself it was for the right reasons as she kept watch to make sure nobody was looking while Miss Martian, clad in her black stealth outfit, was about to enter.

"Coast is clear Mars girl, you can go ahead." Spoiler said.

"I still can't believe I let you talk me into this..." the White Martian sighed in annoyance.

"Would you rather I tried to break in and alert everybody to what's going on as I can't sneak in and out as quietly and as cleanly as you?" Spoiler muttered, "I'm sure the French cops would LOVE to ask what two costumed girls are doing breaking into a bakery!"

"Maybe I should swipe a croissant or two to shove down your throat when this is over." Miss Martian teased.

"Please do, I love those. Get one for me and Robin while you're at it!" Spoiler teased back.

Miss Martian couldn't help but smirk a little as she stood over where Marinette's bedroom was and phased through the roof. Spoiler watched her disappear down through the roof like a ghost preparing to haunt its occupants. She remained where she was, keeping a sharp eye out for possible danger. Were the Light here already or had they got there first? The purple clad heroine wasn't going to take any chances.

Down inside Marinette's room, Miss Martian became solid again and took a precious minute or two to admire the place. She was amazed at what she saw, taking in the pink walls, the dark oak floor, the elevated bed, the white computer desk with matching white computer and the Chaise lounge with dotted covers. One would hardly believe this room would belong to a baker's girl. Miss Martian doubted that most "commoners" would have a room as eye-catching as this. She even noticed the trapdoor in the floor. Did this mean the room had once been an attic in this house? If so, they'd changed it into something far more homely and impressive than an attic.

"This place is better than any transformation I can think of!" she exclaimed, "I might have to ask Bio-ship to replicate this!"

But this wasn't the time for admiration. She still had a job to do. The green girl took out the purple S card that the Spoiler had given her and she placed it on Marinette's desk. She'd find it when the funeral was over and hopefully come straight to the team. Miss Martian was looking forward to meeting her, the famous Ladybug of Paris and her comrade, Cat Noir. What were they like and how would they react to meeting her and the others? She'd find out soon enough. Miss Martian flew up into the ceiling and phased through it, returning to the balcony outside of Marinette's room. The Spoiler turned to see her emerge from the room.

"Is that it then?" she asked.

"I placed the card on the desk just as you asked." Miss Martian replied, "Didn't have time to get any crossiants though." she sneered, smiling cheekily.

"Probably for the best as we might've given ourselves away." Spoiler shrugged, smiling back, "Let's get back to the hotel before we're spotted."

The two superheroines quickly made their way back to the Hotel Le Louis with Miss Martian carrying Spoiler and flying off. All they could do now was wait for the funeral to end and for Marinette and Adrian to return home...

* * *

At the cemetery, it was more spacious now that most of the parents had left, with only Sabine and Thomas standing around near the entrance. They knew what was going to happen, so they decided to watch on, to see one final respect being made for the father and daughter that were laid to rest. Their eyes softened with sympathy as Adrien came out of his hiding place, feeling sad for the boy as they could see just how much he was having to keep himself unseen since his father was exposed as a criminal.

Reaching his group of friends, Adrien pulled Marinette into a hug, his cheeks warming against her shoulder as he gave his girlfriend a squeeze.

"I'm sorry for what she said." he said quietly to her, only for Marinette to rub her cheek against his chest.

"You've got nothing to be sorry about. No way was I gonna let her ruin this. She's got herself to blame." she replied, leaning back from him and pulling his hood down, giving him a soft smile.

"Glad you came out of hiding." she added, getting a smile from him in return.

"I'm glad to be here now." he replied as their friends joined his side.

"My mom and dad are far from here now, no worries about any guards looking for you." Lila assured, making him feel more relaxed.

"You weren't kidding about that Audrey Woman, man! Talk about the devil wears Prada!" Nino exclaimed, really put off by seeing Audrey. Adrien just shook his head.

"I hated seeing her again. Still, she's gone now and she's not important. What's important is this." he stated, holding up two bouquets of flowers and looking to the headstones, his eyes sad but respectful.

Marinette took the arm of her boyfriend and gave him a comforting smile.

"We'll stay back, just enough for you to give the respects, but we won't be too far." she assured softly, getting a smile from the blonde teenager. He was happy to have her support, something he didn't ever want to lose.

He looked back to see the rest of his class, seeing them giving him small but kind smiles, that they knew it was time for him to say what he needed. No jokes, no insults, just a lot of silent comfort that told him it was good to go on.

Sighing slightly, Adrien stepped forward with both bouquets gently held in his hand, not wanting to squeeze them out of worry they'd not pass on the much needed love they needed to give to those buried under the headstones. He knelt down and took in the headstones more carefully. He saw Chloe's headstone was white with gold trailing around its edges and inscriptions of her name, date of birth and a reading from the family. Andre's was a dark grey with silver trailings and inscriptions. Both symbolised the image and power both had, for Andre was known for his dark suit and was the adult, while Chloe was younger with brighter colours. It was so fitting.

Feeling his eyes sting a little, Adrien put one bouquet on Andre's headstone. He didn't notice his friends gathered more closely to hear what he had to say. Biting his lip for a second, he went on with his speech.

"Mr Bourgeois...I lost so much in these few weeks. I lost my home, my father, my childhood friend...but what gutted me the most is that I didn't come to see you. I wish I did. So you could know that I hated what Gabriel has done. If anything, I...I could've saved you from whatever it was that took you from us. I kept away though, because I wanted to give you time, and I was scared of what you'd say. But I wish I did so, to let you know that you weren't alone, and that I missed Chloe too...I still remember you from my childhood, how passionate and fun you were, sharing your enthusiasms with my parents, the places you managed to get me to go to when I was little, I was grateful for that. Gave me some fun during my shut off childhood. I hope you have found Chloe again, that you two are having a laugh and planning the next big architect. I promise I'll make sure your memory is respected, sir. Please rest well."

He breathed in and out, feeling one tear streaming from his eye as his heart felt a sharp hit, as if a piece of his soul was unchained. He didn't see Marinette holding her hands over her mouth, tearful at the speech her boyfriend was giving, while Nino gave him a proud smile, glad to see he was coping well. The rest of the class was taking it in with their own thoughts, most of them finding it weird of such positivity being spoken of the mayor, some warmed by the words he was given.

Then the green eyes of the blonde boy laid on Chloe's headstone, where he sucked in some breath to get himself through with what he was going to say now. He rested the bouquet on her headstone and began to talk.

"Chloe...you were once a different person a long time ago. You were my only friend for such a long time. You took me to your little play toys, you'd sit with me on some little rides and your laughs taught me how to enjoy the moments of fun. And I was there for you whenever you were sad, about your mom being rude, arguing with your dad, how it scared you. My family had its problems, but I was there for you to give you some light in your life...you were once a kind and thoughtful girl, a girl I loved being with...I don't know what happened to you when I joined school though. I thought I was talking to a different person, someone who was rude to others and treated me like a trophy. I wish I knew why you did it, because if I did know...I could've helped make you better. I could've saved you, even before this...but I didn't because I...I gave up on you. You put me off with all you did, but now I just wish I had enough time to set you down and talk it out...I hope you know what's been done to avenge your death, Chloe. I just hope your up there now, resting in peace with your dad. I wish I could've gotten back the Chloe I knew, but I hope she's up there now, happy with her dad. You rest well, Chloe...goodbye..."

He allowed himself a moment to just let all his emotions out. He'd said what he wanted, now he didn't need to hold it back anymore. He gave a quiet sob for the two people he'd known for years, hoping his tears would reach them somehow. The others kept their distance to let Adrian have his final moments with the Bourgeious's. After a few minutes passed, Adrian stepped away from the graves and he turned to the group, who instantly greeted him with an exchange of hugs and pats on the shoulders or back.

"That was beautiful dude." Nino said.

"I bet Chloe would've loved to have heard you say all that if she was alive." Alya agreed.

"I think it was best hearing all that come from you as you knew her longer than any of us." Marinette said, "You gave her a beautiful send-off Adrian."

"Thank you guys, all of you." Adrian replied as he wiped his eyes, "I felt it was the most I owed those two, especially after that horrible speech Audrey gave them."

"What you said will mean more to them than ANYTHING that witch said!" Sabrina piped, "I just really hoped they liked what I said too."

"I imagine they did." Marinette said reassuringly.

Now that everybody had given their farewells, they saw no reason to stay around the cemetery. Adrian took one last look at the graves, one final farewell gesture, before he turned and walked away with the others to meet up back at Marinette's for the post-funeral reception. It had been Tom and Sabine's idea to hold the reception at the bakery as they could provide many goods for the guests to eat after the funeral. But Marinette knew she had something else to do before she could be a part of the reception. She remembered Master Fu saying that back at her house, he had to talk with her and Adrian. What did he have to say? She was very curious and hoped that what he had to say would brighten the mood in some way.

They just failed to notice several stiff, pale men in dark suits watching on. Their skin looked like it had wrinkles that were about to split their skins off. They stood there like statues, only moving so slightly as if they were being controlled in some way. They knew though now wasn't the time. For they needed a goal. And the goal wasn't clear yet...

* * *

Everyone had returned to the bakery, which was packed with the parents of their friends. The Bourgeois' relatives were around, so Adrien put his hoodie back on and kept himself close to Master Fu, who gave him a smooth on the arm to comfort him, offering him a smile to go with it. Looking up, Adrien noticed the Bourgeois relatives talking with Marinette, only guessing what the conversation was about.

"I just want to thank you for calling out that vile piece of work, young lady. It means a lot." said the elderly man, clearly Andre's father.

"I just don't understand the nerve she had in showing up and saying what she did about my son and granddaughter. She left them so many years ago, why even bother now? If you hadn't spoken up, I would've beaten her with my own fists." said the elderly woman. Marinette only gave them a small smile, glad to talk with them.

"It was disrespectful. Someone had to say something. Just couldn't believe I actually did it." she said near sheepishly, only to get a pat from the woman.

"I was glad someone did. I have to say, the amount that turned up and paid their respects is enough to tell me my son and granddaughter left an impact." she said, her voice sad but just the tiniest hints of happiness in her voice.

"Also, your parents have turned out a respectable service. I'm thankful there's no loud music being played, like they do at most after gatherings, plus the food is delightful." the elderly man added, a smile on his face at the amount of respect being shown.

Marinette beamed.

"They're just over by the counter if you wish to give the best of praises." she offered, pointing to where her parents were, talking to Alya's mother. The elderly Bourgeoise's smiled happily, glad to get shown the right direction.

"We will. Thank you again, my dear gir.l" said the woman.

With the two going to talk to her parents, Marinette made he way to the corner where Master Fu and Adrien were sitting. Her boyfriend smiled, glad to have her back.

"I guess they were grateful to you." he said to her, getting a smile from Marinette.

"They were. Very upbeat and full of energy too. Wouldn't mind of seeing Grandma Bourgeoise punch that Audrey." she stated, already picturing such a thing in her head. Master Fu giggled upon hearing this.

"The age of seventy eight. That was a time when I felt so young." he gladly stated as he looked back on his long life, making Adrien smile.

"Heh, if seventy eight is your idea of being twenty, then I would hate to reach your age, sir." he joked, getting a gentle jab from his carer.

"Ooooh I'm not that old yet, still have twenty years left in me actually!" he stated in response, leaving Marinette giggling, happy to see the two were getting along more better these days.

The giggling soon came down as Master Fu leaned over the table slightly, looking at the collected group of friends that stood to the far side of the bakery, catching the eyes of his two trusted Miraculers.

"Now then, here's the reason I wanted to speak to you two." the Miraculous keeper explained.

He kept his voice low despite there being no need to since nobody would overhear what was being said. There was too much chatter in the bakery for any chance of being overheard by the guests. Marinette and Adrian leant in closer as Master Fu spoke to them.

"I've noticed how you two interact with that group of children you were with at the funeral." Fu explained, "You all seem like very good friends. Are you all at school together."

"We sure are, why do you ask?" Marinette asked, puzzled. She was wondering where this conversation was going.

"Because I believe that it is time that we had more than just Ladybug and Cat Noir to protect the city." Fu continued, "As the threats of this world grow and grow, it's clear to everyone that more heroes are needed. And I think maybe some of those kids you're friends with could be among the new Miraculous wielders."

Marinette was so taken aback by this that she nearly doubled over backwards and fainted. How funny it was that she had contemplated the idea of a possible superhero team for Paris and now Master Fu was here, suggesting the exact same thing! Luckily, nobody seemed to notice her reaction. She'd have hated to have drawn attention to herself, Adrian and Master Fu otherwise. Adrian caught onto Marinette's reaction and chuckled.

"I take it you had the same idea m'lady?" he giggled.

"Funny enough, yes!" Marinette exclaimed, "Do you have a Miraculous that can read minds or something Master Fu?!"

"No." the tiny man replied, "As is, I am glad we both had the same thought. Great minds really DO think alike." he said with a smile.

He continued.

"So would you say anyone in your group would be worthy of a Miraculous?" he asked, his tone more serious this time.

Marinette glanced over at the group, seeing them all chatting to one another or eating the many baked goods her family had provided. She already had a few ideas.

"When I thought of more Miraculous holders, the first one I thought of was my best friend, Alya." she explained, pointing over to the Martiquen girl, "Alya would LOVE the idea of being a superhero! I can already see it now, I hand her a Miraculous and she freaks out! Though I'd have to convince her not to put it on the Ladyblog..." she added thoughtfully.

"I feel just the same about Nino." Adrian added, "He'd absolutely lose his mind over the chance to be a superhero!"

Master Fu hummed with a smile, seeing what they were getting at.

"I knew you'd choose them, for as you said, they are your best friends. Having observed your interactions with them, I can see them being trustworthy enough. In fact, I have a idea of who they'd be best suited for." he said, his eyes full of ideas over what he was going to give away.

"Though I don't think just those two will be enough. Is there anyone else who stands out to you?" he then asked as he eyed the rest of their friends. Marinette looked thoughtful as her eyes trailed over the rest of her friends.

"It's hard to say. They all have the best of qualities, but I'm not sure who'd be best suitable for which Miraculous." she stated, her voice in deep thought. It was then Adrien put a word in.

"Max might be good. He's smart and could be useful in figuring out a long term plan, he could give us some kind of tech just in case we lose our Miraculouses." He pointed out, though Master Fu's Eyes became distant as his eyes laid on something Alix had as she was talking to Max and Kim. A fob watch of sorts, with strange inscriptions on it.

"Something tells me one of them must've prepared herself..." he said more to himself, though he caught their attention.

"What do you mean, sir?" Adrien asked, his voice interested. He pointed to Alix.

"There's something about her watch...something familiar." he stated, his voice full of utter certainty on what he was seeing.

Just as Marinette was about to ask her master what he was on about, she felt her purse shuffle slightly, alerting her that her Kwami needed seeing to. She opened it slightly, with Tikki poking her head out slightly.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I've not eaten a cookie since this morning. I'm in dire need of one!" she said nervously, her voice aching with clear need for food. Marinette smiled and stood up, nodding at her Kwami.

"I'll get you one of my special ones. I'll be right back." she said to Adrien and Master Fu, quickly darting up the stairs to get to her room.

Master Fu turned to Adrien.

"When I show you the rest of the Miraculouses, I'll tell you of what I'm guessing about that watch. I'm not saying it is a Miraculous, but it's tied to one. I'm sure it is." he said, somewhat shocked to see it in the hands of Alix.

Then as he was about to raise a question of his own, Adrien felt his phone vibrate, telling him he had a text. He wasn't one to turn down a message, so he reached into his pocket and pulled it out. Upon opening it, his eyes were wide upon seeing who it was.

Up in her bedroom, Marinette was looking around to find the special cookies she made for Tikki.

"OK, OK, I know they're around here somewhere, I just can't remember where I put them!" Marinette cried, frantically looking up and down her bedroom. How could someone like her have a neat and tidy bedroom and still have a hard time finding anything!

She dashed by her computer to look in one of the drawers but something caught the corner of her eye and made her hesitate. She looked over at her desk and saw something that she knew for a fact hadn't been there before. It was a purple card with an S on it. That puzzled Marinette. How on Earth did that get there? Had somebody been in her room? If so, how had they done it?! The room was exactly as she'd left it! There were no signs of breaking or entering whatsoever. No broken windows, broken locks on her door or anything. Whoever had sneaked in and left that card must've been an expert at slipping in and out without leaving any evidence. Marinette picked up the card, her palms sweating with anxiety. Her nervousness turned to curiosity as she flipped the card over and saw it had a message on the back.

"We're your friends. We're a superhero team that has come to Paris to investigate a potential threat to your country. Meet us at the Hotel Le Louis in Room 1939. The Spoiler."

It dawned on Marinette that she remembered the Hotel Le Louis. She'd stayed there with Batman during their battle with The Joker and Hawk Moth. And coincidently enough, they had stayed in Room 1939. Somehow, Marinette doubted it was a coincidence. This superhero team clearly had ties with Batman in some way. Who were these heroes? She was keen to find out. Maybe it was the Teen Titans or another of the young superhero teams that Americans had watching over them. Tikki saw the card and her eyes widened with interest.

"I think I know this "Spoiler" person." she chirped, "I think she works with Batman over in Gotham."

"I didn't think Paris and Gotham's paths would be crossing again after The Joker's defeat." Marinette murmured, "I'm really curious to meet this superhero team. We should tell Adrian and Master Fu about this."

With that said, she quickly left her attic and ran back over to her boyfriend and mentor. As she came to them, she noticed Adrian staring intently at his phone as if somebody had sent him a prank message and he couldn't believe what he was reading. She'd arrived just in time to hear the conversation that came out of Adrian and Master Fu as he informed him what the text was about.

"It's from Batman!" he cried in astonishment, "He says a superhero team called "Young Justice" is at the hotel me and Marinette once stayed in with him and that they have urgent news to tell us!"

"Go tell Marinette right away, she needs to hear this!" Fu cried.

"Um, I already did." Marinette said sheepishly, "I was just gonna tell you guys something in return."

Adrian and Fu turned to see Marinette was there, feeling awkward that they'd only just realized she was there. The bluenette approached them and showed the two the Spoiler card she'd found in her room and the message it had on the back.

"How it got there with no evidence of anybody being in my room is weird, but at least it's not a creepy supervillain trying to send me a message." Marinette said uneasily, "So it seems we're both needed. It must be serious news if a superhero team has come over to warn us about an oncoming threat."

"We should go, but what about the others?" Adrian noted, "Won't it seem a little odd if we just sneak off like that and leave them wondering where we are?"

"Just tell them you're taking me home, that I'm feeling tired. I'll pretend I'm sleepy." Master Fu assured, his smile clearly showing he was pulling an old trick.

Just as Adrien was about to ask him how it would work, the old man suddenly slumped into Adrien's side, snoring loudly. This left Adrien startled for a second, freezing as he wondered if this was how the plan was gonna go. Then Nino had to say something when he caught sight of this.

"Uh...dude, is he gonna start drooling on you?" he asked nervously, getting everyone else' attention. Seeing his friends staring at him in confusion, Adrien giggled nervously.

"Yeah, I better get him home, he's tired. He takes care of me, best I take care of him." he said shyly, looping an arm around his back and gently pulled him away from the table. Marinette giggled and followed after them.

"I'll give them a hand, might need some help carrying him up the stairs!" she yelled, confusing everyone as they left.

Nino leaned into Alya.

"Girl, that old dude is weird. He sometimes acts like he's full of energy, the next second he's tired and needs a nap." he whispered, only for Alya to giggle.

"That's the thing with the elderly, still thinking they're kids even at such an old age." she said more humorously, not seeing any problem with Master Fu as they saw him getting carried off around the corner.

When they got around the corner, Master Fu stopped his act and laughed, standing up right.

"Haha, so many keep falling for that trick! I'll never stop using it!" he said in such proud levels, showing his old age never annoyed him. Adrien gave him a small smirk.

"You left me thinking on my toes for a second, sir. At least you still have the smarts." he pointed out as he then turned to Marinette.

"So, where are we supposed to meet them?" he asked. Marinette smiled as she pulled up the card, showing him the address they left on it.

* * *

Quickly enough, they gotten to the hotel, heading straight to the elevator to get themselves up to the floor they needed to go. It didn't take long, thanks to little activity in the hotel with everyone still going out at this time of the day.

Adrien felt a shiver go through him as they walked down the corridor towards the room they were destined to meet at. He smiled slightly, remembering how there was a positive from the negative of what happened the last time he was here, glancing at his lover as he noticed she had a similar look in her eyes.

"Certainly brings back memories, huh?" He pointed out. She nodded, remembering that night of when she finally had the courage to reveal her secret to him.

"Yeah. Thinking of the positives too. Funny how it's in the same room." she added as they reached the door.

They all felt a shiver go through them, realising that once the door is opened, things would get serious. Even Master Fu was nervous, for this would be the first time he was getting more involved in such activities with larger groups of people since the war. Yet they knew they couldn't turn away, they were needed, by both these people, and their country and home needed them now.

"It's hard to believe we're about to meet an ACTUAL superhero team!" Marinette whispered, unable to contain her glee.

"I'd say we already did with the Justice League coming to clear up The Joker's mess but I get ya." Adrian said with a smile, "According to Batman, this team calls itself "Young Justice". I guess they're somewhere between the Teen Titans and Justice League."

"It's still gonna be great to meet them. Although it won't all be making new friends and all that..." Marinette murmured, remembering the reason they were here at all.

Adrian nodded. As cool as this was going to be, it wasn't going to be all awesome. Drawing breath, the two entered the room. As they entered, they were met with the sight of four teenage boys and two teenage girls, all varying in skin colour, muscle structure and clothes. Just from the sight of them, Marinette and Adrian could tell they were a superhero team. What said super more than a boy that had gills on his neck or a green-skinned girl? The lean, black haired boy they saw seemed to be the leader for he stood before the group and addressed the French heroes.

"Hello Marinette. Hello Adrian. It's an honour to meet France's heroes." Tim Drake said, a comforting smile spread across his handsome face.

* * *

_**And so the world of Ladybug and the world of DC Comics collides once again. The heroes of France meet one of America's biggest superhero teams at last! Now they've come together, what will happen once Marinette and Adrian learn of the Light? Will their scheme come to fruition? And is Andre's death tied to the Light's scheme in anyway? **_

_**Tune in next time as our heroes meet and friendships are forged. ^^**_


	4. Chapter 3: Miraculous Meeting

**_A quick word from my co-writer, Reece Wooldridge:_**

**_RW: _****"Just want to say, I know this is gonna cause some uproar among you guys, but remember, this fanfic series is set after season one but before season two became a thing. This series was made before the creators of Ladybug turned Lila into a psychotic liar, and I honestly just don't see the logic in making her into such a person when the creators said there's no evil in Ladybug. Lila learned her lesson in this series and Ladybug wants to help make her better."**

**Now all that's out of the way, enjoy the chapter! **

_Chapter 3: Miraculous Meeting_

There was a few seconds of awkward silence between the two groups at first, with the two French lovers unsure on what to say at first. It was something they were still trying to take in, being with more heroes again, though still getting use to the niceties being put out for them. Still, the silence had to get broken, and who better than someone to zip right up to them at such speed they nearly stumbled back. Bart greeted them with a big grin.

"It's about time we met! I've always dreamt of meeting you guys, you two are pretty much legends in the future! You define power couple!" he said excitedly, shaking their hands as if he was about to take off in a big dance with the two. Marinette's eyes widened and a sheepish smile came over her face, while Adrien giggled nervously. Tim pulled Bart back by the shoulder, giving him a stern look.

"Remember what I told you? We gotta make them comfortable." he reminded softly. Bart waved his hand apologetically and rubbed his head.

"Sorry, big fan!" he admitted, with Conner stepping beside him.

"Yeah, and like most fans, you make your heroes uncomfortable." the clone added as he pulled him away to give Tim some space with the heroes, Kaldur joining his side, greeting them with his wise eyes and smile. Feeling a little more relaxed, they finally spoke.

"Uh, a pleasure to meet you guys too. I take it you're Robin? I remember seeing a picture of you in the Bat-Cave." Marinette asked, finding her words.

Tim pointed to himself with a proud finger.

"You got that right. My name's Tim Drake, though, you can call me that when we're meeting like this." he assured, being polite about it.

"Well, you sure seem nice, guess Batman raised you well, huh?" Adrien asked, glad to meet another good hearted friend of the vigilante. Tim only nodded with a smile.

"Yeah. He shaped me into who I am. Didn't think I'd find my confidence without him." he stated in response, feeling somewhat shy in admitting that.

Kaldur looked over the two's heads and noticed Master Fu, his eyes narrowing in interest.

"It seems you didn't come alone. I take it you are the Guardian Wonder Woman spoke of?" he questioned. Master Fu nodded as he closed the door behind him, smiling happily as he shook the half-Atlantean's hand.

"Yes I am. It's a pleasure to meet more friends of the Spirit of Truth. Am I right to believe you originate from Atlantis? It's a city I've been most fascinated since I started travelling." he asked with as much interest. Kaldur smiled slightly, glad to meet another human who wasn't a sceptic on Atlanteans.

"That I am, Guardian. There is more to the world you have yet seen in your life." he pointed out, understanding enough from the old man's words.

Of course, two more joined the conversation, as Tikki flew out from Marinette's purse and Plagg flew out of Adrien's pocket. M'gann and Steph gasped and Conner could swear he saw love hearts in their eyes at the sight of them, making him hold back a giggle as his girlfriend floated over towards Tikki, with Steph following her.

"Aren't you adorable!? My goodness, not even the plushie toys of this planet is as cute as you!" M'gann said in awe as she scooped Tikki up into her hands, with Steph staring down at her like she was holding a newborn baby. Tikki beamed and giggled ."

Glad my age hasn't ruined my cuteness." she squeaked, only for Steph to smooth her head.

"If only we can stay as cute as you when we get older!" she said happily, as if she was playing with toy princesses again.

Plagg, meanwhile, was floating all around Kaldur, poking his gills.

"You're half-Atlantean!? You better not die while on dry land! Actually, how's Atlantis doing!? I might've sunk it by accident a long time ago! And that princess went missing too!" he asked loudly, stunning Kaldur slightly.

Before Adrien could pull him away, Bart came running back, looking up at the Kwami with a smile.

"Finally, someone with as much energy as me! How long have you been alive!? I've got so many questions!"

"And sadly, we have such little time to answer them in." Tim noted.

Bart understood, standing back and trying his hardest to keep himself contained for he knew what was coming now. Trust business as usual to pick an inopportune moment to ruin a meeting with new friends!

"Yeah, I think we oughta get straight to the point." Marinette said uneasily, feeling a little awkward that they'd come for an urgent meeting but instead, they'd gotten carried away meeting each other.

"Yeah, time to acknowledge the, as you humans put it, "elephant in the room" right?" M'gann added, jokingly transforming into an elephant to emphasize her point.

"You've been spending too much time with Beast Boy babe." Conner snickered playfully, "He's got you making animal puns now."

"I'm still hoping we can meet Beast Boy at some point." Adrien said brightly.

""Maybe you will some day." Tim said, "Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Adrien Agreste, otherwise known as Ladybug and Cat Noir. I take it you know why you're here."

It was startling to see how quickly Tim had switched from being chill and friendly to serious and business like. It was easy to tell this boy had been raised by Batman for he could switch between the two personalities on a dime as well. Marinette nodded.

"We do. You believe there's an oncoming threat to Paris." the baker girl acknowledged, "One of you dropped off this card at my bakery to invite me over." she added, showing the Spoiler card she'd received earlier.

"Glad you found it. I'm rather proud of my little calling card." Steph said brightly, "Always lets people in on the spoilers y'know."

"I'd just like to know how you got in my room and out again without leaving any trace of what happened!" Marinette exclaimed.

"M'gann can phase through solid objects. Simple as that." Steph said cheekily, nodding over to the Martian girl.

Marinette glanced over at M'gann, who looked away awkwardly. She looked like a child that had been caught raiding the biscuit tin.

"She talked me into it. Honest. I wouldn't have sneaked into your room like that willingly." she said nervously.

"I understand why you did it, no worries." Marinette said kindly, "If there's a threat coming to Paris, we need to know about it. So...what is this threat?" she asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.

Tim and Kaldur stood forward, clearly indicating they were the two with all the answers. Were they dual leaders in this team or was one in charge and the other was second-in-command? Marinette and Adrien listened in total silence as the Batman sidekick and Atlantean exposited on everything that had lead them here.

"We were raiding a camp that was owned by the Bialyan government." Tim explained, "After hacking into their computers, I found out that there were messages talking about Paris being "ripe for the picking"."

"Said messages were between an agent and founding member of a criminal organization that is more dangerous than any in the world." Kaldur added on, "They call themselves The Light."

Tikki and Plagg's eyes both widened in alarm.

"The Light?!" they exclaimed.

"You know about them?" Marinette said in astonishment.

"That organization dates back longer than many people think!" Tikki shrieked frantically, "One of my previous owners went up against an earlier version of The Light and it proved much more difficult to defeat than most enemies we fought due to their intelligence and uncanny ability to sway people to their side, politically or publicly!"

"What do those guys want with Paris?" Plagg asked curiously.

"That's what WE want to know..." Conner growled, clenching his fists. Just the very thought of the Light made him yearn for the moment he could punch them in the face, preferably all the members at once if he could.

"It's fairly obvious. With what's happened here as of late, with Hawk Moth working with Joker and Riddler, and Grail's rampage, they feel Paris is at a weak point that is just right for them to take hold of. Paris is the capital of one of the largest countries in Europe, it has a lot of power. Power they will use to their advantage if they are to win in the elections." Kaldur said knowingly, making the two French teens gasp in shock.

"You mean...they're trying to get the role of mayor? But...there's no way, there's only two candidates left." Marinette pointed out, finding it hard to believe the incredible timing of such a thing. Master Fu hummed in thought, looking unsure of Marinette's point.

"We never know what goes on behind the scenes of politics, my dear. For all we know, there could've been secret talks between the two candidates and the Light." he reasoned, getting a nod from Tikki.

"Their leader always plan ahead, it's how Vandal Savage has managed to keep in power over the centuries. This could be another case if his numbers have expanded." she said bitterly, not liking having to put up with Vandal again.

Adrien, however, shook his head and voiced his own words.

"Look, I can believe you to an extent, but I'm ruling out one of them. Armand is my fencing teacher. He's a bit passionate about his family history and always had a grudge against Andre, but there's no way he'd work with some terrorist group. He's too proud to stoop that low." he said, keeping his voice levelled to show he was being reasonable.

M'gann spoke up, though, sounding soft in her words.

"But that's the thing. Pride can be easily corruptible, just like what happened with my own brother, M'Comm. He was so proud of our father's work he ended up joining Darkseid, and all the while I believed he was innocent. People can hide a lot about their true selves, especially if their family history and pride are that much to them to make power out of" she said, her voice sullen and sat at the mention of M'Comm.

Tikki floated beside Adrien and gave him a sympathetic look.

"That and Vandal Savage has been alive for centuries, Adrien. He might've known Armand's ancestor and used that knowledge to his advantage to get him on side." she said sadly, with Plagg nodding.

"Yeah, and you have to admit, he's got an ego to him. Easily useable by Vandal." he pointed out.

Marinette then spoke up, her voice serious.

"While there is that much reason, I'm siding with my boyfriend on this. Armand is a teacher and too busy with it to get involved with a terrorist group." she said, making Adrien feel relaxed he wasn't alone in this. Master Fu then spoke, talking right to Kaldur.

"Then there's the other candidate, my dear young fellow. He's more highly plausible as a suspect. What was his name again? Brian...Beautician?" he asked, trying to lay a finger on the name.

Everyone couldn't help but giggle at his misunderstanding of the name.

"Now that would be a name I'd be embarrassed to have" Steph said lightly as Tim got out his laptop, getting up an image of the man in question.

"His name is Brian Beaumont. Local politician working since the nineties, worked his way up the ladder since then." he pointed out.

The image showed a tall, bald headed man with a pair of square like glasses, with a slight scar running down the side of his right eye, wearing the typical suit you'd expect a politician to wear. His head was a bit bulky too.

"Yeah, he always gave me and Adrien a tough time when we started out our work. Said we're nothing but a problem to society like all superheroes." Marinette said frustratedly, recognising the man.

"All down to a kidnapping incident in the Atlantic, when my king was nearly too late save him from a blast on the ship. He had to have open surgery to get his skull repaired." Kaldur added, his eyes bitter at the story Aquaman told him of.

Marinette and Adrien had always wondered how Brian got the scar over his eye. They hadn't expected Aquaman to be involved in the man's life in any way.

"That's no reason to hate superheroes though, it's not Aquaman's fault he didn't save him in time." Adrien said indignantly.

"Nevertheless, we have a VERY close eye on Brian as he seems like a very likely agent for The Light." Tim muttered, "His motivations would make swaying him over to their side so easy. And there's still the fact that his name is so familiar to me...don't know why, I've never met him before and I sure don't know him through anybody else."

"Maybe he's using a fake name?" Marinette suggested.

"No, Tim wouldn't feel familiar with him if he was using a fake name." Steph corrected, "I think it might be an anagram of his actual name, though I personally can't spot any name that you could rearrange the letters of his name to make into at the moment. Maybe it'll come to us."

"If he's even using anagrams." Tim noted.

"Whoever Brian is, he seems the most likely to work for The Light." Marinette declared, "He hates the heroes and he's always grilling me and Adrien whenever he can, though thankfully he only knows our superhero identities and not us outside of costume so we're in no danger of ever being found out by him."

"I dunno guys, don't you think he'd be a little too obvious?" Bart asked, hoping he'd made a good point, "I mean even the way he looks makes him look as if he should wear a t-shirt saying "I'm a bad guy!"! I think The Light would be more subtle than that."

"Sometimes The Light relies on stuff that's obvious as even a transparent agent can still be a useful one." Kaldur noted, "Brian could be one of those obvious agents and for that reason."

"So we better watch out for him when the elections happen." M'gann declared, "Hopefully we'll be able to dig up anything that might suggest who he really is and who he works for before then."

"And if we all join forces, we'll have a better chance of keeping watch over Paris." Conner put in, "We know The Light, you two know this city, therefore we're a perfect team to stop The Light's threat in Paris!"

"Except it won't just be us two." Marinette corrected.

The team stared at her in confusion. Marinette began to feel uneasy with everybody staring at her like this as if she was being interrogated in some way but she continued on anyway.

"You see, Master Fu and we are putting a plan of our own into action." Marinette explained, "We all agree that Ladybug and Cat Noir aren't enough to take care of Paris anymore. We need more heroes and we're gonna recruit some by bestowing more Miraculouses to anyone we deem worthy!"

Tim nodded, seeing where this was going.

"Batman always wondered if there were more than just the ladybug and cat powers..." he mused.

"You mean there's more powers than just yours?!" Bart exclaimed, "Dude, that's so crash! What else have you got? Please tell me you have a Dragon Miraculous or something!"

Master Fu simply smiled and nodded over at Bart, not needing to answer his question with words. The speedster gasped in surprise.

"Whoa, and I was just kidding about that!" he cried.

"There are many more Miraculouses than just the Ladybug and Cat ones." Master Fu explained, "And I am the keeper of all of them. I'm already thinking of which ones to hand out to the recruits we have in mind." he said, glancing over at Marinette and Adrien.

Marinette frowned at him in confusion while Adrien raised an interested eyebrow.

"You've made a choice? Me and Adrien chosen Alya and Nino, who'd you have in mind?" she asked in slight shock.

"I think it's to do with Alix, isn't it? It's her watch that caught your interest." Adrien pointed out to him. Master Fu beamed, waving a congratulating finger at him.

"You are right, my dear boy. You see, Alix's watch isn't ordinary, that you are aware of." he stated as the Young Justice listened in, interested in what the old man was talking about.

"It projects a hologram but I thought her dad just built it? She did say it was a family heirloom but there's no way something like that could've been made all those years ago." Adrien tried to reason, only for M'gann to giggle.

"You're standing in a room with a Martian, Adrien, you have Kwamis that have lived for centuries, and you worked with Wonder Woman, you should know by now that it's highly possible something like that was built back then." she softly reminded, getting a sheepish smile from him in response.

"Fair enough." he agreed.

Master Fu, however, shook his head, still beaming.

"It wasn't her family who made it. I recognised it after thinking over in my head. It's a charger, for the Rabbit Miraculous." he confirmed, making everyone stare at him in shock and disbelief. Even Tikki and Plagg looked confused at what he was saying.

"Hold on, sir, are you saying Alix was a Miraculous user the whole time? Did you send her on secret missions for you?" Adrien asked sharply, but Plagg shook his head.

"Nah ah, he hasn't let Fluff out for a long time! Still, how can that roller skater have the charger?" he turned to his former owner. Master Fu rubbed his chin in deep thoughtful, still looking light about this.

"It's hard to say. The Rabbit Miraculous has the power of time travel, but it takes a lot of energy to recharge it. Fluff eating is only enough to give it a little boost. For how your friend got it, my only guess is that someone went back and gave the charger to her ancestors. The amount of history and time energy it consumes, the more powerful it gets. She doesn't even have a time limit for how much of her powers she uses. Might have to keep both chargers away from each other though, in case they are the same ones..." he explained, talking well about what he was guessing.

Marinette raised an eyebrow, wondering if she heard that right. Even Tim looked like he was struggling to take it in. Though Bart looked happy.

"Whoa, so this means the chick can jump into different times? She could get me back home if that's the case!" he said gladly, showing he took it in that well.

Marinette looked like she took it all in and sighed.

"Okay, gonna have to get very careful with her if we bring her on board. She's gonna feel blown away that she had a superhero tool the whole time." she pointed out, trying to process it over in her head.

"That and time travel can be useful. She doesn't even have to reverse or go forward, she can slow it down, give us a chance to beat anyone we fight." Adrien pointed out, smiling at the idea.

Kaldur found his voice after he let it sink in too, speaking up.

"Well, if that's the case, then there'll be five of you in total. But even then that won't be enough. Paris is a big city and you need bigger numbers if your to inspire hope in those in the city, including covering it." he reminded.

Adrien shrugged. "There's plenty of our friends to choose from. Just depends who's best off joining." he said, looking thoughtful to who would work for another Miraculous.

"But who?" Plagg asked curiously, "I don't think there's anyone else in your class that could help us out."

"I have a suggestion." Marinette chimed in, "But you'll probably find it controversial..." she added nervously.

Adrien eyed her curiously.

"Don't worry about it, I'm sure you've got a great choice in mind." he said reassuringly.

Marinette inhaled and exhaled for a moment, easing herself as she gave Adrien her answer.

"Lila Rossi." she said.

Adrien and Master Fu stared incredulously at the holder of the Ladybug Miraculous as if she'd said something silly like "Can you travel to the moon in a moneybox"? The team all looked at each other, not sure how to react to Marinette's suggestion though Adrien and Fu's reactions told them that it was clearly an unusual suggestion. Tim however seemed to know who she was talking about.

"Lila Rossi...isn't she a politician's daughter?" Tim asked, "I'm sure she's related to someone in the Italian government."

It didn't surprise Marinette or Adrien that Tim knew this. They imagined that as Batman's sidekick, it was his business to know as much as he could about politicians all around the world, especially their children as they needed to make sure nobody in power was a security risk or a supervillain in disguise.

"She is." Marinette confirmed, "She's a student at our school too."

"I'm surprised you'd even think of suggesting her Marinette." Adrien said, "Didn't think you'd consider her worthy of a Miraculous. Why did you suggest her?"

Marinette sighed and looked to her side, a guilty look on her face as she talked.

"It's just...after what I did to her, I've been trying my best to make her feel better. I not only humiliated her, I got her akumatized, all the while not wondering why she was lying, not just to you, but to others. After everyone started giving her a hard time, I talked to her. She was lonely and she thought that she could make friends by telling everyone those lies. Living the life of a travelling girl means you have next to no friends, and that's all she wanted. Even after saving her from Joker, I feel I've not done enough. Remembering how she behaved during that time, her political ties and her fighting skills, I think she could be helpful. She deserves another chance."

Adrien could only smile approvingly at his girlfriend. He already had plenty of reasons to love her, now he had another reason to add to that list. Why couldn't more people in the world be as compassionate and forgiving as her? Even Tim seemed impressed with how altruistic she was being.

"I can see why you're Paris's hero Marinette." he approved, "A big heart like that is a sign of a true hero."

"And that's what I love so much about you." Adrien added, embracing Marinette tenderly.

The bluenette wasn't sure what to say, blushing from the compliments she'd received. She embraced Adrien back, once again feeling warm and fuzzy from just the feeling of his strong arms around her. How she could fall asleep in those arms!

"I...I'm so flattered you all think that. Thanks very much." she said sweetly, "And I thought I'd get some serious crud for suggesting Lila!"

"If you see her worthy of redemption, the Rossi girl must have a genuine heart buried inside my child." Fu said wisely, "And you also display the fundamental truth in life that the only way to destroy hate is to spread love. Showing kindness to Lila will make her a better person as you desire. Par your suggestions, we'll give her a Miraculous too."

"So that makes six of you when all these Miraculouses are given out." Steph acknowledged, "Heh, all you need is a seventh member and you really would be like the Justice League!"

"Even though there's more than seven members in the League nowadays." Tim pointed out.

"All-in-all, I bet the Light will feel sorry they underestimated this city when they find it more protected than they expected!" Marinette declared, "They'll be sorry they ever dared to come and bring their evil over to France!"

"I think the number we have now is enough. Still, how are we gonna fight the Light and get our friends together in such a little amount of time?" Adrien asked, wanting to find the best way of planning in this.

"You'll have to try and get them trained and well use to the superheroics in the next few days. The elections start next week, so the weekend should give you enough time." Conner assured, clearly having faith in the French teenagers.

"We'll also be there to introduce ourselves and instruct them in what they'll have to do in the next week." Tim explained to him.

"The Light are good at pulling strings, something you'll have to get use to. They'll carry out assassination attempts, the best we can do is keep ourselves plain clothed and see anything suspicious. We can alert you to what's happening, then you can make your moves" Steph told them in a slightly more serious tone, "It's just as we pointed out: Paris needs more of its own heroes. We guide you and your friends, you make the choices, everyone will have faith in you" she further added.

"But if it comes to it, we'll step in. Conner and Bart are there on standby as extra muscle." Tim assured, knowing they needed to take this carefully.

Marinette nodded, a smile on her face.

"It's challenging, but I'm up for it. If these guys think they can take control of our city, they can think again. We'll have our friends trained by the end of the week." she stated, her voice clearly telling she was all in on this plan.

"It probably won't be that simple, but we can try." Tim decided, "I'm glad we could all meet up like this and talk together. It's gonna be an honour working with Paris's heroes."

"As it will for us to be working with a genuine superhero team." Marinette replied, "Gosh how did our lives end up like this where we get to meet Batman, Wonder Woman and the Young Justice team all within a short amount of time?!"

"Probably the day we got our Miraculous." Adrien chuckled.

"And I bet we won't be the end of it." M'gann added humorously, "You'll probably get to meet my Uncle J'onn or Green Lantern or even Superman himself next."

Everybody laughed at that. But M'gann had a point. Marinette and Adrien knew full well that there were still plenty more superheroes in the world to meet. And now Paris itself was growing into a city that housed a superhero team, they'd probably be getting the attention of even more heroes. They could end up meeting anybody at this point, and their team would get to meet them too. The French heroes would just have to see if their faith in their chosen candidates to become the next Miraculous bearers wouldn't be misplaced and that they'd be worthy of heroes like they were...

* * *

"Much too slow! You must react faster than that if you're to block a strike from me Kagami!" Shiva yelled as she drew her bokken back, "If we were using real swords, you'd no longer have a head!"

"I'm reacting as fast as I can!" Kagami snapped, bracing herself for another strike from her master.

"Then I've failed you as a master if that's as fast as you can move. Try again and see if you can block me this time!" Shiva cried viciously.

Kagami raised her own blade in a defensive pose, breathing steadily to try and concentrate, but her eyes widened as Shiva suddenly bolted right at her in great speed, her bokken pointed in an offensive attack. One blow came near her chest, just managing to swipe it aside at the last second and dodged another blow from the wooden blade, but Lady Shiva dropped down to the floor and shot her feet out, sweeping her off her feet. Kagami gasped and fell onto her side, her body aching from the time they've been training. Her mistress was relentless in her attacks, and sometimes Kagami wondered if this would be her last actions in being alive.

Shiva coldly raised her blade over Kagami and sliced it down to the Japanese girl, who rolled out of the way and jumped back to her feet. Shiva gave her an uncaring look. In fact, it looked like it was dripping with disgust, something that made Kagami freeze with her mouth thin and her hands shook slightly, wondering what her mistress would deliver this time.

"Dodging most of my attacks again? What have I told you, child? Dodging and running during combat is the sign of cowardice! You counter my attacks, not run!" Shiva snapped, her voice rising in anger as she spun on one toe and jabbed out her sword again. Kagami gasped and held her sword out, meeting her mistress's blade with great struggle in a blade lock. Her arms shivered at the angry eyes of Shiva, who continued to bite at her.

"You are afraid? You do not show that! You show no emotion in combat! No compassion! No weakness! Your opponent will take advantage of that, one way or another!" She yelled as she drew both swords down and elbowed Kagami in the stomach, sending her stumbling back, before a hard kick was delivered, making her fall right onto her back, winded and in pain.

Her chest going up and down, the blue haired Japanese girl nearly lost her breathing when Shiva drove the blade right towards her face...only to stop a few inches from her forehead.

Panting as she saw the sharp edge of the blade that close, Kagami felt a wash of relaxation come over her as she realised the training was almost over. Shiva no longer had a look of anger, just disappointment as she stood over Kagami, who followed her with her eyes.

"You are not weak, are you, Kagami?" she asked, her voice filled with venom.

"I'm not weak." Kagami mumbled.

"Sorry...I didn't hear that." Shiva spat.

"I SAID I'M NOT WEAK!" Kagami bellowed.

For the first time since they'd started training, Shiva was caught by surprise. She was sent staggering backwards as Kagami leapt up and swung a terrific punch that almost took the martial arts master's head off. Then Kagami quickly tripped Shiva up, swiftly moving so her mentor wouldn't have time to recover from her uppercut. Shiva couldn't remember the last time she'd found herself lying on her back looking up at the ceiling during a training match with her students. She managed to sit up but was quickly pushed back down as Kagami pressed her foot against the woman's chest and pinned her down with all her strength. She pointed the bokken at her master's head, making it clear that if this was a real sword, she could run her through and kill her in an instant.

"How's THAT for weak?" Kagami sneered.

"I was wrong. You're not weak...you're stupid." Shiva retorted.

Too late, Kagami had realized her mistake. She had wasted time gloating and now Shiva had an advantage over her! She looked down and saw that her master had another bokken, this one the length of a dagger, pressed against her leg. If this had been a real fight, Shiva would've stabbed her with the dagger and her leg would be badly ruined, oozing blood and leaving her unable to stand and giving Shiva a chance to get back on her feet and cut her to pieces. She growled in annoyance as she stepped away and allowed the Chinese woman to stand up again. Shiva threw down her weapons, signifying that training was over.

"In battle, you NEVER lower your guard." she said coldly, "The moment you're on top, you finish the fight quick. Many conquerors have failed in their conquests due to the rookie mistake they so often make of claiming victory before they've actually won as you did. If you ever pin somebody down like you did with me, don't waste time gloating and kill, or better still, kill them before they get back up again."

"Yes Lady Shiva." Kagami said bitterly, still angry she'd once again failed at a simple exercise.

"As is, you're getting a little better." Shiva muttered, "You actually caught me by surprise and was able to knock me down. I even think you actually managed to HURT me, that hasn't happened in a while." she added, rubbing her jaw. Shiva maybe used to pain, but it still ached a little from the punch.

That made Kagami feel a little better despite everything. After eavesdropping on Marinette and friends earlier, Kagami and Shiva had been training to prepare for the possibility they maybe needed for The Light's big scheme in Paris. Shiva seemed to be training her even harder and harsher than usual for some reason, something Kagami didn't like. Something big must be happening, that much she did know. She and Shiva sat down to rest from their hard session, the two grabbing a bottle of water to refresh themselves and curb the raging thirst that often followed a hard training session. Shiva turned to Kagami.

"You have done well in the field of stealth, that I can praise you for, my dear child. What you gave me was very satisfying, as it is for Vandal Savage. He is set on giving you a gift for such good work." she said, her voice still cold and lacking any emotion. Kagami just sighed as she put the lid on her bottle, resting back on her hands.

"Ohhh, I wonder what the gift will be? Another little getaway house that you will use to spy on me?" She asked bluntly, clearly not looking forward to whatever it was she would get.

"Something better actually. Something that will be useful in fighting the heroes of this city. You will use it wisely in combat." Shiva responded, not pleased by the response the teenager was giving her.

Sometimes she wondered why they even took her and put her in the training group. Sure, she didn't know how little babies turned out, but she expected better from a child soldier she raised and taught all she knew. Then again, her adoptive "family" spoiled her in her first few years of living. That really didn't help.

Kagami didn't look interested, instead looking away in deep thought. Her body ached and she didn't feel any joy from this. No matter how strong she got, or how better she became, it just didn't feel right to her. Especially after seeing how happy those teenagers were. Living a normal life didn't seem as sad as she was told...then there was that Agreste kid and his girlfriend. Something just felt weird to her about them...

Shiva noticed her look, so she stood over her, giving her a sharp look that made the poor fighter shiver slightly under her stare, making her look up to the Chinese woman, who gave out her question.

"What is on your mind? You've been more...hard to talk to as of late." she pointed out, sounding more straight with her words.

Kagami knew there was no point in lying to her. She had to say it carefully as this kind of talk wasn't something her mistress was up for. She sighed and ran her fingers over her chin in thought as she voiced them.

"It's that Adrien Agreste...with all that's happened to him, I have...concerns over what plans Vandal Savage might have for him. He seems so happy with his girlfriend, and the friends he still has." she explained, her voice going softer as she remembered how warming it was to see someone cope with all that happened to him.

Shiva turned her nose up, showing she had little care for it. Still didn't stop her from voicing a response.

"Whatever plans Vandal has, he will use it when our top goal has succeeded. If anything, it's good, for such normal citizens shouldn't associate themselves with someone that's potentially dangerous, due to his heritage. He will know his own place when everyone sees its best he'd be forgotten." she explained, looking from the teenager she fiercely trained.

Kagami felt her eyes lower and her heart sting. She knew this kind of talk wouldn't go anywhere that would offer a light on such a thing. But she knew that her leaders knew best, so there was no point in questioning that. Shiva turned back to her, interest in her eyes as if she was scanning her.

"He's not the only one on your mind though, my dear child. What else is there?" She questioned, her voice intense for she didn't like any secrets being kept from her.

Kagami clenched her fists, nervous to admit her own feelings of what she wanted. She knew she'd get a vicious telling off that wouldn't get her to sleep. But the best she could do was voice something else on her mind. Something she couldn't stop thinking of.

"His girlfriend, the one called Marinette. She...she looks like me. Not just the hair, but her Asian heritage is clear. Is it possible my family has relatives they've not told me about? Would you be...taking her in too?" Kagami told Shiva, her voice shaky as she talked of it.

She didn't see it at first, but Kagami could swear she saw Shiva's eyes widen slightly and her cold look nearly collapsed. But as quick as that came, it went. She just couldn't tell how tense Shiva was feeling inside, knowing she had to choose her words carefully in what she would tell her. In just a few seconds, the best explanation came out.

"You are in one of the European capital cities. A city of diverse citizens. There are plenty of Asians that live here. Just because this Marinette has blue hair and is half Asian doesn't mean she's a relative. You only have one family, the ones who created you and raised you. A family that I am part of and shaping you into the best warrior the planet will ever see. Don't be such an idiot."

Kagami frowned. For once, could Shiva talk to her without insulting her in some way? Why did she have to resort to petty name-calling so much? She mulled over what she'd been told in answer to her question. She wasn't entirely convinced that Shiva was telling the truth. There must be some relation between her and Marinette! The resemblance between herself and her was too coincidental for it to be a coincidence! If she ever met Marinette again, she'd be sure to hear it from her and see what she knew, if she even knew at all.

Before the two warriors could say anything else, the door opened up and in walked two very imposing but very important guests for the master and student. One of them was Vandal Savage and the other was a huge beast of a man clad in black armour and a huge, flat-shaped helmet with enormous red eyes that made him look like a humanoid manta-ray. It was appropriate that he should call himself "Black Manta" as a result. A lifelong enemy of Aquaman, Black Manta had been all too happy to join the Light and had quickly become one of its highest members, even being a part of the Founding Seven and owning much of the Light's forces at sea. Shiva imagined that Black Manta's real eyes were probably as red and as menacing as the ones on his helmet, though even the sight of him couldn't ever faze her.

"I do hope we're not interrupting an important training session." Vandal said politely.

"We were just on our break. We were about to continue before you arrived." Shiva said, bowing with respect.

**"And how are things going between you two?" **Black Manta demanded, his voice amplified by his helmet so every word he said sounded like thunder booming around the room.

"Kagami is improving, but she still has much to learn." Shiva replied.

"I at least managed to knock her down." Kagami chipped in as if that fact would mean anything, "That's something, isn't it?"

**"Know your place child!" **Black Manta snapped venomously, **"Students of Lady Shiva will only speak when spoken to or when given permission by the lady herself to talk!" **

"Thank you Black Manta, I can discipline her just fine without your input." Shiva muttered.

Kagami scowled but said nothing else.

**"So are your best ninjas ready for our invasion of Paris?" **Black Manta asked, addressing Shiva directly.

"MORE than ready." Shiva said, speaking more to Vandal Savage than Manta as she was the kind of person who would directly speak to the leader rather than the underlings, "We can set out on your word Vandal. When do you want us to head out?"

"In the following week." the immortal caveman replied. It was all he needed to say, "Have them on standby until we give the signal. Then we can have the assassinations commence."

He then turned to Kagami, a slight smile on his face as he walked towards her. Kagami kept looking at his face, not wanting to show an inch of nervousness in his presence. He expected a lot from her and she was going to give him the best he could get from her.

"I have to say, I am impressed by your skills in collecting information in spying around this city. For that, you deserve a reward." he spoke, his voice full of polite admiration in praising the child. Kagami frowned slightly, not use to getting such a polite lot of words from the immortal man. Still, she couldn't keep him waiting with her response.

"And what would that be?" she asked, interest in her voice as to what he was going to gift her with.

Vandal pulled off the sheath around his belt, the silver handle of the sheathed sword sticking out with the handguard doing so too, a red gem sitting in the middle of the triangular like handguard. Kagami frowned at the sight of it, wondering what kind of sword this was. Vandal pulled it out of its sheath, revealing the pure brightness of the silver blade, holding it right in front of her.

"This sword is something I personally crafted. It was very helpful in many battles I went through. It has the power to help you copy and counter your enemies' attacks. With the training you've gone through so far, I feel it's worth you using it, especially against Ladybug. Use it well." Vandal advised, reaching it out to Kagami, who stared at it in slight confusion at receiving such a weapon.

A wash of gladness came over her, feeling of all the gifts they gave her, this was the best. It wasn't intrusive, nor was it an insult to her. It was like a proper reward.

Taking hold of the handle, Kagami held the sword close. It was big but also light and easy to hold. The tiniest of smiles came over her, realising this was likely the only good gift she would get from them.

Shiva, however, eyed her with suspicion. She was not sure that she deserved such a gift after their little talk. And she could only wonder what she would do with it now that she'd be out in the open in the next few days.

* * *

The Light were not the only ones putting their plans to action though, for at the same time, the two lovebirds of Paris were already on a journey in the night to make some deliveries. Special deliveries.

Marinette and Adrien had suited up as Ladybug and Cat Noir to carry out this late night delivery. The two were only just realizing that it had been a while since they'd last donned their superhero identities. The last time they'd been in costume, they were on Themiscyra after defeating Darkseid and Grail and receiving congratulations from Queen Hippolyta herself for their hard work. At least for now they could be in costume for a more quiet and down-to-earth reason than last time. It would be a little calm before the storm scenario to prepare them both for what was to come.

Ladybug and Cat Noir had been given four boxes, Ladybug carrying three and Cat Noir carrying one, that all carried a Miraculous. Ladybug had the boxes containing the Fox, Bee and Rabbit Miraculouses while Cat Noir had the box containing the Turtle Miraculous. Master Fu had personally chosen which Miraculouses to hand out himself, choosing the Fox, Turtle, Bee and Rabbit for their powers of illusion, protection, paralysis and time travel respectively. He left it up to Marinette and Adrien to choose which ones would receive which Miraculous. Wayzz had taken a moment to give some parting words to Master Fu before they'd left, worried that his master wouldn't be OK without him. Fu had insisted he would be fine.

"I'll be there if you ever need me Wayzz." Fu had said, "Just remember to pass on your wisdom to your next holder, as you have for me."

Ladybug and Cat Noir had settled on who would receive which Miraculous and were heading to the respective homes of their chosen candidates now. Ladybug first dropped by Alya's home, noticing that the blogger seemed to be asleep already. Her curtains were closed and the lights were out. She couldn't help but smile. It wasn't like Alya to be in bed so early. Maybe her sisters had worn her out and today had been too tiring for her. Luckily for her, Alya's window was open a crack. It was a warm night tonight so Alya had left it open to keep her room cool. Ladybug eased it open a fraction more so she would reach her hand through the window. Once it was open wide enough, she placed the Fox Miraculous on her best friend's windowsill. Due to Alya's position as a blogger and a wannabe news reporter, it seemed fitting to her she should have the power of illusion. She was always digging through deception and lies to find the truth. Satisfied with the drop-off, Ladybug swung her yo-yo over to another building and swung away into the night.

She next stopped by Alix's house, noticing that she too was asleep. Her curtains were drawn shut and the lights were out. However, Alix didn't have her window open like Alya did. It seemed the tomboy skater was more tolerant of the warmth than her best friend was. Ladybug would just have to find another way to drop off the Rabbit Miraculous. She looked at the box for a moment, still in disbelief that according to Fu, Alix's watch was a charger for the Miraculous itself. Who'd have thought that Alix would've been holding a Miraculous this whole time? She could already imagine the skater's reaction once she found out herself. Ladybug looked back up, searching for a way into Alix's house to drop off the Miraculous. The superheroine then noticed the front door was opening. Alix's dad had come out for a moment to fetch the bin in, which gave Ladybug the chance to sneak down to the door and peek around the corner. There was a counter by the door and she slipped the box onto that. Then before Alix's dad could turn around and see her, she slipped away and swung off to find Lila's house. Alix's dad came back into the house with the empty bin and shut the door, locking it for the night. He didn't noticed Ladybug's little gift sitting on the counter for Alix.

Ladybug swung over the rooftops to find Lila's house. Due to her propensity for lying in the past, she'd never known her true address until recently and even then, Ladybug wasn't entirely sure if it was right. Maybe Lila was being honest this time and she'd find it. The last thing she needed was to waste the night just trying to find it.

To her slight surprise, she found it was quite a posh house the Italian girl lived in, separated from the other houses, had a flat roof, and a few balconies in front of several windows on the top floor. Hooking her yoyo around the streetlight near the house, her eyes scanned all over the windows, seeing one window was open a little, giving her a glimpse into the room behind the window. She could just see the familiar head of Lila sleeping against the pillow, clearly in deep sleep.

With Lila in her sights, Ladybug leapt over into the balcony and silently slipped in, the last Miraculous box in her hand. She scanned around the room and noticed how bare it was, seeing just a few hair clips, a mirror and a draw on one side and a few boxes with several clothes in. Ladybug sighed, her eyes sad as she took in the room. It was clear Lila really hadn't settled in that well, for the room had little to make it good and homely, something she wouldn't mind looking into in her civilian life. No wonder she struggled to settle in.

She slid the box onto the desk side of her bed, giving Lila a small smile.

"I'll train you well, Lila. I promise." she assured quietly before slipping out of the room and went back into the night, her job done.

Chat Noir had his job to finish. Finding Nino's home wasn't hard, he just had to be as quiet as he could so as not to alert his mother. Planting his feet on the roof, he looked over the side to wear Nino's room would be, remembering where it usually was. He crouched and slid down the side of the house, coming to a stop next to the entry. He peeked his head in to see Nino sleeping and mumbling a song of sorts to himself.

Giggling at seeing even sleep didn't stop his friend's nineties nostalgia, Chat Noir slipped in and pulled out the box he'd been told to give to, putting it on his bedside. He gave Nino a thumbs up.

"Can't wait to have you fighting with me, pal. See you soon." he said quietly before he took back off, taking the swinging trip back home. His job was done, but another would come in the weekend, to start training the new Miraculers.

* * *

_**So friendships are formed, the new Miraculers have been chosen and The Light are making a move! The alliance between the Miraculers and Young Justice is going well but will the new Miraculers be enough for what The Light has planned? Will they even be any good in a battle?**_

_**We'll find out next time as the new Miraculers come together...**_


	5. Chapter 4: New Miraculers

_Chapter 4: New Miraculers_

The next morning came and Ladybug, Cat Noir and the whole Young Justice team were eagerly anticipating how the chosen new Miraculous wielders would react to the thought and possibility of becoming a new superhero. As exciting as it was, it was also quite nerve-racking for the heroes too. The chosen children could just as easily say no and hand the boxes back in, or just not bother using them at all and thus the whole thing last night would've been a waste of time.

"If our friends so no, then what?" Marinette had fretted, "We can't stop the Light by ourselves! We'll be short on allies to face against them!"

"If push comes to shove, I suggest just finding new possible candidates." Tim put in, "What do you say Master Fu?"

"It'll be difficult given time is against us, but we'd have no other choice." Fu said gravely, "I'd rather these chosen few accept right away so we're not stuck on a wild goose chase finding other candidates."

"There's still plenty of people in our class we could try instead." Adrien noted, "Though aside from Kim and maybe Max, I'm not sure who else would be ready for that kind of power."

Their answer came soon enough for the four chosen Miraculers began to discover their new gifts one by one. The first one to see hers was Alya, the first one in Ladybug and Cat Noir's late night mission that Ladybug stopped by. After waking up and stretching in her bed, Alya put her glasses on and turned to the side of the bed to slide out of it so she could open the curtains. The moment she did, she spotted the box Ladybug had left for her. Her spectacled eyes blinked heavily and she took her glasses off to rub them, wondering if she was seeing things. She slipped them back over her eyes and saw the box was still there.

"Whoa, that's not weird in the slightest..." she muttered sarcastically, "Where on Earth did this come from?"

She opened the box up, curious to see what was inside. She could see there was a necklace inside with a fox tail at the end of it. But she saw there was something else in the box for after opening it, an orange beam of light flashed out of the box, making Alya wince and close her eyes for a moment. After the light died down, she turned back and saw that floating ahead of her was a small fox-like creature, complete with pointy ears and a tail. It had purple eyes and its body was tiny compared to its oversized head. Alya's eyes widened so much that they almost peeked over her glasses. The fox-thing waved at her.

"Hi Alya!" it piped, its voice a little feminine sounding.

"OMG...either my sisters exhaust me more than I think they do or I'm still asleep right now!" Alya exclaimed, "You're not a figment of my imagination or something in a dream, are you?"

"Try touching me and see for yourself!" the fox creature said cheerfully.

Alya did just that, poking the little Kwami in the chest with her index finger. The creature giggled in response.

"Watch it, that tickles!" it said.

"Whoa...so I'm clearly not dreaming!" Alya blurted, "There really is a tiny fox thing in my room!"

"Wanna spell anything else out Captain Obvious?" the creature retorted.

"And the fox thing has some sass to it. That's pretty surprising!" Alya chuckled, amused that the little thing could snark, "So...what are you and why are you in my home?"

"I'm a present from Ladybug and Cat Noir themselves!" the Kwami said excitedly, "My name's Trixx and I'm a Kwami! We Kwamis are magical creatures that can bestow powers to people who wield them, much like Ladybug and Cat Noir themselves!"

That was enough to make Alya squeal in excitement. On the one hand, it was surprising Ladybug seemed to know where she lived and that she'd give a gift to HER of all people. Ladybug, THE Ladybug, thought she deserved a gift? Had she done something incredible to her idol that she didn't know about and was being rewarded for it? It seemed too good to be true. On the other hand, she was being presented with something that granted powers. If Kwamis gave Ladybug and Cat Noir powers...could she become a superhero like them? Alya grabbed Trixx and held her close to her face.

"You mean that Ladybug and Cat Noir gave me something that could make me a superhero like them?!" the Martiquen girl exclaimed, her face flushed with joy.

"In a word yes! Now please be gentle when you hold me, you've got a tight grip and I'm quite delicate!" Trixx croaked feebly.

"Oh my gosh, sorry, sorry! I got carried away there!" Alya cried, worried she'd hurt the magical creature in some way.

"It's OK, I'm used to excitement form my owners." Trixx said kindly, brushing himself down, "Anyway, Ladybug and Cat Noir want you to meet them at a local place, namely under the Pont Neuf bridge that crosses the River Seine. They'll explain my being bestowed upon you and what this is all about. That is...if you wanna come."

Alya blinked for a second and rubbed her chin in thought, looking like she was spinning the thoughts over her head, though she voiced them loudly.

"Okay, so, they want me to meet with them like, what, right now? What, will there be others there!? I so need to think it over, I need to check with my mother!" she ranted to herself, though Trixx got in her way, shaking his head.

"Whoa, Whoa, you can't go telling your mother you're meeting with two superheroes and telling her about me, little red riding darling! That ain't how it works!" he warned, his eyes as sharp as his words.

Alya giggled and smiled, cupping her Kwami in her hands.

"No, I'm not gonna tell her about you, I know how the superhero stuff works! I'm good at coming up with good excuses! Oh man, this is gonna be great, I'll get to work alongside my favourite superhero!" she squealed, barely containing her excitement. Trixx felt his fears drop a bit and smiled, seeing how excited his new owner was.

"Alright, darling. You seem like you're in this already, and you've only just woken up. That's what I call dedication." he beamed with his words, getting a grin from Alya.

"Ohhh little cub, you have no idea how much I've wanted to work with her! I mean, it's good getting to interview her and run news coverage on her, but gosh I've always wanted to do more! And if she gave you to me, I'm all for returning the favour!" she said with so much eagerness that Trixx could see it all radiating off her. He could tell this would be his brightest owner yet.

"Well, I can see why she gave me to you. She's clearly a smart girl and you have a heart well in for this. But I'll just give you a quick advice of my own, my little darling; the necklace you see in there? That's a Miraculous, kinda like what Ladybug uses. You need to put that on. With it, I can help transform you into a superhero. You'll be called Rena Rouge when we transform." he told her, his voice full of pride at instructing his owner of the power of the Miraculous, happy to get used for good again.

Alya picked up the box and took in the sight of the necklace, smiling at how small but beautifully detailed it was.

"This little thing? Wow...this, this is actually happening, I'm putting on a Miraculous! And Rena Rouge...I might be going red when I transform, or orange, I don't mind either! C-Can I transform now?" she asked quietly, trying to hide her excitement as if she was ready to go through with her action. Trixx giggled and smoothed her fingers to calm her down.

"Not yet. Like you said, gotta come up with an excuse to tell your mother." he reminded, making her widen her eyes a little as she realised she nearly forgotten that. Standing up, she nodded, her smile going small to hold back her excitement.

"Yeah, should've remembered that!" she said as she went to her draws to slip on her clothes. Doing so, she asked away with more questions.

"Will Ladybug know I'm coming? I can't call her or anything!" she said as she slid on her shirt. Trixx smiled and picked up the Miraculous, giving her an assuring look.

"I'll let her know. Us Kwamis have a way of communicating when we have a Miraculous to ourselves." he said as closed his eyes. His body gently glowed a yellow like colour around himself that beamed right into the Miraculous, making a Alya stare at it in awe.

"Whoa...ohhhh Ladybug, here I come!" she said excitedly as Trixx delivered the message.

* * *

In the hotel, Tikki squeaked as she noticed the earrings on Marinette's ears were glowing, as did M'gann.

"Uh...I take it that's normal, hmm?" the green skinned alien asked, making Marinette frown slightly.

"What do you mean?" she asked before Tikki zoomed over and cupped one of the earrings, making her gasp slightly.

"Whoa, Tikki, what is it?" she asked, a little stunned at the sudden movement of her Kwami, who listened closely to the earrings. She smiled and floated out, meeting everyone.

"Just got a message from Trixx! Alya has agreed to meet with us!" she said with a lot of joy, leaving Marinette gasping in shock upon hearing that, while Tim smiled.

"There's one coming. Just the other three now." he said with pleasure. Bart grinned at Marinette, seeing how she was taking it in.

"Pretty cool, huh? Always great to have a BFF joining the team!" he said brightly, making Marinette nod slightly.

"Y-Yeah...gosh, I should've guessed. She is my biggest fan after all." she said, realising she was gonna end up meeting and training her best friend soon.

"Guess Nino might be next. I think he'd go for it." Adrien said, eager to hear for a response from Wayzz. Master Fu nodded, smiling.

"Yes indeed my dear boy. I have this feeling Wayzz and Nino are going to make quite the fun pair. I'm sure Wayzz will bestow the best of wisdom on your friend." he assured, getting a giggle from Adrien.

"You thought my puns were cringey, Master? Wait till you hear Nino's ones from the nineties!" he said, making Master Fu smile in response, almost wondering how Wayzz would take it.

* * *

At Nino's, the teenaged nineties fan kid had just come back from the bathroom after brushing his teeth, sticking to the routine most people would do in the morning. As he wandered around trying to find his cap, he noticed the Miraculous Box on his bedside. His eyes looked at it in interest, picking it up.

"Whoa, did this fall out from my wardrobe or something? Looks like an old card pack box of my trading cards." he said to himself, almost excited at reflecting back on his hobbies.

As he opened it though, he found a green beaded bracelet in there, making him frown.

"Whoa, is this one of those sour sweet candies? Must've gone out of d-Whoa!" he cried out as a yellow glow formed, taking the shape of Wayzz, who smiled and bowed to the stunned teenager, who almost dropped the box.

"Hello there, my dear fellow, Nino. A pleasure to meet you." he greeted kindly, not realising Nino was frozen and stiff upon hearing him talk, only his eyes following the green Kwami as he floated towards him.

"I am a Kwami. I was given to you by Chat Noir, who has chosen you as his ally in fighting crime. What you carry in your hand is the Turtle Miraculous, which will transform you into your superhero form, Carapace. I'm hoping this hasn't shocked you too much, but you'll need to make up your mind soon in meeting with Chat Noir to start your training. You understand?" he explained politely to the teenager, who only just started moving his mouth.

"H-Hang on...little green guy, floating, turtle superpowers...you some kinda secret mutant ninja turtle!? Dude, if you Kwamis are government experiments trynna create animal supersoldiers, then this is a whole new level of wackiness!" Nino cried, waving his arms frantically, only to slip on a piece of clothing and land on his backside in his moment of shock, though it didn't stop his strange rants, which left Wayzz stunned.

"I-I mean, governments always try to weaponise entertainment stuff, they might've made you guys to copy the ninja turtles! O-Or Ladybug is a government agent who's had ladybird DNA mixed with her own! D-Dude, this is-MFFF!" he was suddenly muffled when Wayzz pushed his lips closed with his hands, giving him a concerned look.

"First of all child, I'm not a...ninja turtle, nor am I government experiment. I'm magical. Now, I will repeat myself to make it clear in case you forgot: Chat Noir gave me to you because he thinks you are suitable to fight alongside him in protecting Paris. Has that gotten through to you yet?" he asked concernedly, wanting to see if Nino realised what he was telling him.

Nino's eyes were as wide as his glasses as he tried to process all of this. He wasn't sure if this was real or if this was some crazy dream he'd somehow not woken up from. Cat Noir, one of France's heroes, was offering HIM a chance to fight alongside him?! He was basically being offered a chance to be a superhero! If this was real, then it was a dream come true for the cool dude! Nino had relished the idea of being a hero like Ladybug and Cat Noir. He even fantasized the very idea of being their sidekick. He never thought that such a thing would ever become reality!

"You swear you're not pulling my hat over my eyes, right dude?" Nino said, his voice small as if he hadn't quite regained his ability to raise it after his surprise.

"My dear Nino, THIS is pulling your hat over your eyes." Wayzz retorted, his face blank as he quite literally pulled the 90's kid's hat down over his eyes.

"Hey watch it dude, that's my lucky cap!" Nino cried, swatting the air with his hands to make him back off.

There was no denying it now. Wayzz was as real as he could be and something like this hadn't made him wake up from a dream. If he was real then so was the offer he'd given to him. Nino pulled his hat back up and stared back at Wayzz.

"So Cat Noir gave you to me so you can give me superpowers and fight alongside him. Did I miss anything?" Nino recapped.

"You hit every point I said perfectly." Wayzz said with a smile.

"AWESOMELY RADICAL!" Nino exclaimed, "Aw sweet, I never thought I'd ever get to be a hero like Ladybug and Cat Noir!"

"Did they really have to give me to a kid who's two decades out of date..." the Turtle Miraculous muttered under his breath, "Now Nino, you must come to the Pont Neuf bridge as soon as possible. Ladybug, Cat Noir and any other hopeful recruits they've chosen to join them will be meeting up under that bridge. Of course, the option to refuse is there for you but I sincerely doubt you'll say no given your enthusiastic response to my proposal."

Nino smiled and picked Wayzz gently up in his hand, pointing a finger at him.

"My green dude, turning down such an offer is a low blow! With all they've done for us before, I'm in for it! So can't wait to get to know them more!" he said proudly, making Wayzz smile nervously.

"You are an excitable child. This will be a challenge for me as it's a challenge for you. You just not tell anyone though, understand?" he instructed carefully. Nino gave him a beam.

"My dude, Secret superheroics is something we all get. No revealing secret identity unless there's a reason for it!" he said gladly, making Wayzz relax upon seeing Nino had calmed down a bit and understanding of what he would have to do.

"That is good. Before we go, you'll need to collect some food for me. They give me a charge of power that helps me transform you." He told Nino, who nodded as he stood up.

"I'll get what I can, you'll eat anything, right?" he asked, getting a nod from Wayzz. Grinning, Nino spun around and threw a happy fist out.

"Man, my lil bro Chris is gonna have a new hero to add to his toys, he won't realise it's me!" he said happily as he ran to get some food.

Seeing him go, Wayzz floated to the Miraculous and picked it up, doing what Trixx did in beginning to send his message. He hummed slightly, looking slightly unsure "I do hope he makes less nineties references, just looking at his room tells me he's really stuck in that era..." he said to himself, continuing with his message.

* * *

At the hotel, Adrien beamed at his girlfriend as he noticed her other earring glowing, with Tikki floating towards it.

"Got another message by the looks of it, who is it?" he asked as he joined Marinette's side, with Tikki coming out, smiling nervously.

"Um, it's Wayzz! He said Nino was kinda scared but he's in for it! Wayzz just hopes he toned down the nineties references." she informed, making Adrien giggle shyly.

"Heh, yeah. Don't know how he got so stuck in that era" he admitted nervously, though Bart just smiled.

"The nineties had the bestest and cheesiest of TV shows! I had a few of the series in the future, everyone loves them!" he happily informed, making Tim giggle.

"Yeah, I'm sure they do." he said quietly, clearly not buying what Bart was saying.

"Just two more now." Master Fu reminded, eager to learn of what the next responses will be.

* * *

Alix woken up a lot earlier than she usually would. She was intending to go on an early morning skate with her rollers to try and build up some strength over an upcoming race she was gonna do in a few weeks, and stop by Alya's to see how her mother was doing. Of course, the same happened with her when she picked up her crash helmet, only this time there was a bit of a difference. She looked to her TV and saw her pocket watch resting there, glowing slightly. She raised an eyebrow and walked over to it, wondering if it turned itself on as she didn't remember doing it last time. The closer she got to it, though, the more she noticed something was different.

"It's glowing on the outside? Never seen that before." she said to herself as she picked it up, running her thumbs over it to see if there was anything wrong.

She could feel it slightly vibrating, confusing her even more. That was when her ears picked up a rattling coming from behind her at her bedside table, where she saw the Miraculous box, which was rattling. A shiver coming over her, recognising it wasn't there in the night. She looked down at her pocket watch and felt it vibrate slightly more, making her walk nervously towards it.

"Dad, if you've sneaked a present into my room, then you have a funny way of doing it..." she said through gritted teeth, not sure how to take what was going on around her.

However, before she could get any closer to the Miraculous box, it suddenly popped open with a gold light emitting from it, making Alix gasp in fear as she wondered what was just happening. The ball took took the form of a little white rabbit, who bowed to her with a slightly more dull look on her face, leaving Alix wide eyed and confused at what she had before her. The Rabbit spoke.

"Ahhhh, I see it is you I have been given to. I had this feeling I'd meet you soon, Alix Kubdell. I'm sure you will do good, given you have a charger in your hands already." she spoke, her voice mysterious.

Alix felt like she was going to faint as she looked down at her pocket watch and then at the Rabbit.

"You...you know about my family watch? Who are you? How?" she asked in confusion, trying to take in what she was told. The Rabbit nodded, floating closer to Alix.

"Yes. Your watch is a charging shell for the Miraculous, or one of two now that I'm looking at it. I am forever known as Fluff, the Kwami of time. You are needed by Ladybug and Chat Noir to help save the city, to meet them at Pont Neuf and train. You will understand as well as the others." Fluff told the stunned girl, who shook her head as she stood up.

"Wait, Ladybug sent you? She wants me to help?" She asked. Fluff nodded at her, making Alix sigh as she rested her chin on her fingers nervously.

"Don't get why she chose me. I don't see myself as the best type of superhero, not that good at responsibilities even when I try..." she said numbly, more to herself than to Fluff, who raised an eyebrow at her, before smirking slightly.

"Well, heroes start in different places. The best of heroes are those that lack confidence in themselves at first. I have this feeling you will do well." she said humbly, making Alix eye her suspiciously.

"Are you trying to hint what will come of my future? You did say you are tied to time." she pointed out.

Fluff shook her head.

"No. Time is never certain, so many different points and roads are always in my head. Honestly? I don't know what will become of you, Alix, but I'll say this: if you don't at least give it a try, you won't know for certain of what you will be like. While I would give you the option to turn it down, I would rather see you try. I can see that determination in you already." she pointed out to Alix, who frowned.

"Oh, because you can see it in my heart?" she asked casually, only for Fluff to shake her head again.

"No. It's how you've reacted to me. You took this quite well, being humble, but not getting scared of what you see. You seem well used to the oddness of this world, something not many people have gotten round to." she pointed out, sitting on Alix's shoulder, "And with someone reacting like you do, I would gladly have you as my owner." she said kindly, making Alix take in her words and looked to her watch.

A swirl of warmth came over her and she remembered the importance of life that her father always taught her. She smiled, not a cocky smile, but a normal one.

"My dad always had his faith in me. Taught me to do my best at life, and honour his family. He always helped push me forward. If this watch really is tied to you, you to my family, and Ladybug is calling for me, then I can't turn it down. If I need to protect my family, after all that's been going on, I'll do it." she said, determination in her voice as she slowly stood up, looking to the Miraculous box on her bedside before looking at Fluff.

"You don't mind going at high speed, do ya?" She asked in a slightly daring tone, making Fluff smile.

"Oh you bet." she said in response, seeing Alix had her mind decided.

* * *

Now there was just one more to get involved. The Italian girl herself, Lila, had been straightening her hair to make it look good for the day. She sighed as she did so, not really feeling in such a good mood.

"Just another day to myself again. Mom and dad having political meetings, everyone's gonna be busy doing their own thing...could go and see Marinette, she's been nice to me, but she might be with Adrien for the day. Guess there could be a racing training somewhere, wouldn't mind giving that a go." she said to herself, trying to plan out her day to keep herself entertained.

Looking around, she saw how bare her room was, making her sigh again.

"Could always make this more homely...then I'd have to put it all away for when we move again. No point." she said tiredly to herself, jumping onto her bed, thinking that a day indoors would be better...even if she was alone.

Her green eyes then laid on the Miraculous box, making her frown as she picked it up. Lila examined it with interest, feeling a sense of familiarity with the box as she looked at the symbol.

"Hey...I think I've seen that somewhere before. It was...uh, what was it?" she asked herself, trying to remember what it was.

She continued to ask herself this as she lifted the lid up, finding none other than a yellow hair comb in it. The Italian girl frowned and reached her hands towards it, only for a yellow ball of light to form over it, making her gasp as she rolled back onto her bed, only to get greeted by a little yellow and black Kwami that looked like a bee. She greeted her with a slight bow.

"Greetings, my dear. I am Pollen. I am hear to serve you in this dark day." she said politely.

Lila was so startled that she stumbled backwards and pressed herself against the wall, unable to believe what she was seeing. She let out a torrent of frantic Italian exclamations before returning to English to speak to the little bee Kwami before her.

"If this is some kind of revenge scheme of Ladybug's, I understand! I was a bitch to her and I'm sorry about what I did! Please don't sting me!" she whimpered, raising her hands defensively.

"I'm not going to hurt you dear." Pollen said gently, "I'm not a revenge scheme at all. I'm a GIFT from Ladybug, a gift that I think you'll love very much."

The Italian girl eased her nerves and lowered her hands. Her eyes furrowed with confusion. Surely she was hearing things?

"Hang on...did you say you're...a GIFT? From LADYBUG?!" she exclaimed.

"I believe that's what I said." Pollen said cheerfully, "Do I need to say it again just to make sure you got it?"

"No, no, I got it. It's just that I don't believe it!" Lila blurted, "Why would Ladybug give ME of all people a gift? I'm the girl who lied about her, just like I've lied so much in my life just to get friends and attention! She shouldn't wanna be within three feet of me, let alone giving me a gift! This has to be a prank of some kind!"

"Do you really take Ladybug, a truly altruistic hero with great compassion, as the kind to play pranks on people?" Pollen retorted, her cute face narrowed into a scowl that looked out of place on her, "I'm sure even you know that Ladybug's not the vengeful type."

"She seemed pretty vengeful to me when she exposed me in front of Adrien that one time." Lila pointed out, "Though I suppose I was asking for that and it was in her right to expose me..."

She came away from the wall and walked closer to Pollen, who looked back at her with sympathetic eyes. Lila sighed, running a hand through her hair.

"I've been trying to redeem myself from all the lies in the past." the politician's daughter murmured, "But I still feel like people can't really trust me. I guess Ladybug sees that if she gave you to me Pollen. Maybe she sees that I wanna get better and be more honest and is rewarding me for it. But...what if I let her down? What if I...misuse you in someway and she thinks that she can't really trust me after all. I could go into relapse! I might start lying again! Do you really think that I'm worthy of you Pollen?"

"I trust Ladybug's judgement!" Pollen chirped, "If she thinks you're worthy, then I think so too! Anyone who's willing to atone for their sins is worthy of redemption I say."

"Well...that's very kind of you." Lila said, struggling to find the words. She wasn't used to anyone being so nice to her, especially outside of politics. It was all a bit overwhelming for her.

"So...what can you do?" she asked curiously, "Are you some magical wish-granter or something?"

Pollen giggled and floated back to the box, plucking out the hair comb.

"Somewhat. I can grant you the powers of a real superhero, with this little thing." she said gently as she gave it to Lila, who looked at it in awe and interest, smoothing her fingers over it gently.

"This is a real Miraculous, isn't it? Like, a proper one?" she asked twice, wanting to make sure this was what she thought it was. Pollen smiled with a nod.

"It is. Just put it into your hair, call out the transformation name, and you'll become Queen B." she explained, making Lila look thoughtful for a few seconds.

"Queen B, huh? Makes sense, given you look like a bee. Didn't think I'd be royal material though..." she admitted softly, looking over the Miraculous as it fully settled into her about what this meant. Her eyes looked to Pollen, full of certainty.

"If she's given me a Miraculous, that means she needs me to do something...she's really putting that much faith in me, right?" She asked, nervous at what this meant, getting a nod from the Kwami "Yup! You, my little queen, are to go to Pont Neuf soon, to begin your training with other recruits! It's a matter of saving not just Paris, but the world!" she excitedly informed, only to see Lila gasp at some of the stuff she said.

"Other recruits? That must mean she's chosen other students from the school! Oh this is gonna be weird..." she groaned, feeling that cold run of fear coming over her as she turned away from Pollen, who looked concerned at what she was now doing.

Lila sighed, avoiding the look from Pollen as she floated to her.

"Look, I am grateful for Ladybug for wanting my help, but if the other recruits are from my school, that'll just make it harder for me to cope. I'm sure if Marinette was there I'd be okay, since she's been nice to me, but some of the others still haven't gotten use to me yet. They are just being nice simply because Marinette has tried to build a bridge between me and them..." she explained sadly, her eyes losing its gaze as she looked to her bed, wanting to sink into the pillow and pretend Ladybug didn't give her Pollen.

Instead, though, Pollen sat on her hand, raising Lila's focus again, her eyes full of wisdom.

"My little Queen, you won't get anywhere without trying. Marinette might not be there, at this place, or at your side all the time. Sometimes we have to get through life on our own and do things ourselves. This can be your chance to prove yourself to everyone." she told the Italian girl, who looked stunned by the thoughtful words the Kwami had given her.

Her face turned back to her Miraculous, feeling a swirl of warmth coming into her chest as she realised this could be her chance. A chance to make things right.

Her face showed that of a made up mind, turning to Pollen.

"Pont Neuf, Yeah?" She asked, getting a nod from the Kwami, who was happy to see she made her choice.

* * *

Alya was quite confused at the site she arrived at. Normally the bridge over the Seine was bustling with cars and tourists, no matter what time of the day it was. There were cars doing their usual trips, but not that many people. In fact, there were just two standing by the bridge's steps that would lead onto the Pont, a beefy boy with black hair and his girlfriend, a brownish redhead with a few freckles on her face, the two having a sweet talk of sorts between them. Alya didn't know why but she had a strange feeling the closer she got to the two, so she stepped further away to keep a distance.

"Sure is quiet. Think Ladybug and Chat Noir have this place cordoned off with some magic or something? Could that be them?" She whispered into her pocket, with Trixx pulling his head out.

"It could be, my cub. Only way to find out is going down there." he whispered, getting a smirk from Alya.

"Your cub? Heh, whatever you say, little baby." she whispered back as she walked towards the steps of the Pont...only for someone to catch her eye, making her frown, while he gasped.

"Nino!? What are you doing here?" she asked, hiding Trixx in her pocket as she went to her boyfriend, who looked nervous as he tried to find his words.

"Oh, uh, just admiring the view, y'know, don't get to visit this place that often." he meekly explained, though he could see she was not buying his words, so he dropped his arms.

"Okay, that wasn't rad" he muttered as his girlfriend eyed him, a knowing smile coming over her as it began to settle in, so she crept closer.

"Hold on...have you...have you been chosen too?" she whispered, hiding her excitement to avoid alerting the other couple near them.

Nino's eyes went wide again and he looked at Alya all over, trying to figure out what she just said.

"Huh? You mean, you got one of those little cuddly bug dudes this morning and was asked to come here by Ladybug and Chat Noir?" he asked. Alya gave him a smile and covered her mouth with her hands, trying to hide her happiness, making him giggle in response.

"Guess this means we'll be spending more quality time together, huh babe?" he sweetly asked, getting a positive finger pointed at him.

"Oh that's right, you aren't getting out of my sights anymore, Nino. Bet you'll look good with a turtle shell." she sweetly responded with a sly wink, making him giggle.

"I better not get a bad back from this, I'm not up for going to a retirement home at a young age. Bet you'll look great in anything you get, my babe" he whispered back, ready to pick her up in his arms and give her a kiss...only for the sound of roller skates come speeding towards them, making them look up to see Alix coming to a stop in front of them.

She looked stunned for a moment, before eyeing the Miraculouses the two had on them, her eyes narrowing in interest.

"Never seen you two wear those before...got them as gifts?" she asked as she clipped her wheels away and walked towards them. Nino pointed at her in shock while Alya was lost for words.

"You're here for the same reason?" he asked, realising just how much it was going to get crowded. Alix nodded, smiling.

"Yup. Not shocked they chose you too. Still, it's nice to train with friends I know." she said, glad to have found who else had got it.

Alya smiled and gave her a hug.

"Guess we can watch our backs, and hey, I think this means I'll get to return the favour you did for my mom in doing this." she said happily getting a beam off Alix as she pulled out of the hug.

"That's a way of putting it. So long as I don't have to see you and him getting smoochy." she reminded, pointing at Nino, who looked slightly offended.

"Oh? We that good that we make you cringe, roller blazer?" he hit back, getting a giggle out of Alix.

It was then another voice entered the conversation, making everyone get confused for a second.

"Oh, I guess Marinette ain't here then. This is all the recruits I can see." Lila said as she nervously went towards the three, who stared at her in stunned silence for a few seconds until Alix spoke up.

"Okay...if Ladybug chose you, I guess she must be really wanting to build bridges with you. This is gonna get weird." she said, getting a nod from Lila.

"This is weird enough as it is. Look, whatever happens here today, I hope it makes some changes. Not just for the world, but for me and us in a way." she said, trying to put on a strong posture as she walked near them.

Alya sighed but smiled.

"Well, Marinette did a lot of hard work in getting us to forgive you. We might have been distant, but we'll make the best of this." she said, coming to see there was a reason why they were chosen. Lila smiled, hugging her side nervously.

"I guess that's something. Let's hope we do good with them" she said as she joined their sides.

"My lil dude told me there's only four of us they've recruited, so I guess this is it. Shall we get down there then?" Nino asked as it settled in this was it. Alix looked at the couple nearby, seeing them walking away a bit.

"Let's hope they don't come and watch. Not up for my identity getting exposed in one day." she said in a serious tone, going to the steps. Alya couldn't help but smile, having a good feeling about this.

"Something tells me we don't have to worry about them." she said as she followed after Alix down the steps, with Nino and Lila following closely.

They just didn't realise the two watching them was actually Conner and M'gann, who smiled as she saw how everything was going.

"They're here. I'm sure they'll do well." she said softly, though Conner gave her a concerned look.

"I'm just worried at how long you'll be keeping up the illusion for. Won't you get sick of this goes on all day?" he asked worriedly, only for M'gann to close his lips with her finger.

"Conner, I've done this for years. Hiding a training ground is nothing. It's easy for me." she assured with a smile, making the teenager smile with some comfort to know she'd be okay.

Down on the Pont, the new Miraculers wandered around for a bit, looking to see where their heroes were. Shortly enough, stepping out from under the bridge was the heroic boyfriend and girlfriend of Paris, smiling as they greeted the teenagers that had made it to the meeting.

"We're so glad you answered our call." Ladybug said softly, her smile welcoming as if pleased to be meeting these kids.

"We was hoping all four of you would come." Cat Noir added.

The heroic duo was bombarded with a mixture of reactions. First of all, there was the excitement and amazement that came from meeting two big name heroes at long last and the incredible acknowledgement that they were standing in front of them now. Then came all the questions that the two had expected to receive from the new Miraculers.

"How did you know where I lived?"

"Why did you pick me to be a hero?"

"What is this all about? Are you creating a superhero team?"

"What big threat are we all teaming up to face?"

It was hard to try and keep up with the questions coming from four people all at once. Ladybug held her hands up hastily.

"Everyone, please! I can explain everything, just calm down for a minute!" she cried frantically.

Everyone fell silent and waited for Ladybug to speak. Now there was quiet, the spotty heroine got straight to the point.

"Now, I understand how exciting and weird it is that you four in particular were picked to become new holders for the Miraculouses you now possess." she explained, "I also understand it may seem weird that we picked you four in particular. Well the answer is simple: me and Cat Noir have seen you four on our superhero missions. You've all displayed bravery, compassion and a willingness to stand up for others during Hawk Moth's akuma attacks. So we feel it fair to reward you all with the chance to become a hero."

"And also, me and Ladybug can't keep up with all the new threats that we've been getting lately." Cat Noir added, "The Justice League won't always be able to help us as you know so what better way to combat said threats by increasing our numbers?"

"This is so radical!" Nino cried enthusiastically, "Dudes, don't you realize what this means?! We could all become one big superhero team! France's equivalent of the Justice League even!"

"We better not call ourselves the "Miraculous League" or whatever as that'd be so corny." Lila muttered.

"We haven't decided on a team name yet." Ladybug said sheepishly, "We're getting to that after the important stuff's out of the way. Before you all test out your abilities, you all need to listen to this important fact..."

It was jarring to the children to hear Ladybug's voice suddenly switch from cheerful and sweet to deathly serious. This wasn't a side of Ladybug that many had seen of her before. Lila knew she could have her serious moments, thinking back to when Ladybug had exposed her as a liar to Adrien, but she knew that this time, there was no anger in her voice so she wasn't worried.

"If you accept these gifts we've given you and join us, you MUST use them wisely and for their intended purpose." Ladybug continued, "Don't be like Hawk Moth where he abused his gift. The Miraculouses aren't to be used for evil. If you promise to use your powers for good, you can keep them as long as you wish. If you don't...then we're gonna have to respectfully demand them back. If you don't feel cut out for the superhero life, that's perfectly OK. Just don't try to keep the Miraculous and hand them over if you're out. We're not gonna force any of you into this."

"The decision's all yours buddies. Who wants to join our team?" Cat Noir asked, his tone lighter compared to his bug-a-boo.

Not even so much as a second passed before they got their answer. The question had been answered so quickly that one had to wonder why they bothered asking it at all.

"Do you really need to ask? I'm in of course!" Alya piped up, "I'd never turn down the opportunity of a lifetime! Getting to work with my idols and be a hero like you is a dream come true!"

"If Alya's in, then so am I!" Nino added, "I'm not letting my girl have all the fun!"

"It's clear I was meant to be a hero from the start." Alix answered, looking at her watch, "I had a Miraculous all along so why not put it to the use it was meant to have?"

Lila took a little longer to answer. She was still uncertain of if she could be trusted to wield such power, and if the others could trust her to be a team player. But then she thought back to her desire to improve herself, her dull civilian life where she could never settle for long before moving into another place, her boring parents and their boring politics. Yes...it would be wonderful to finally have an escape from all that and have some excitement in her life.

"I'm in too. That is...if nobody's uncomfortable with that." Lila said meekly.

"You're all very brave to accept such a big gift and responsibility." Ladybug praised, "I couldn't be prouder of you all. Now...let's see you all transformed!"

Alya was keen to have the first go. She looked over at Trixx, who hovered by her head.

"So how does this work little guy?" she asked.

"You just simply have to say the phrase, "Trixx, let's pounce!" my cub." the vulpine Kwami answered.

"Trixx, let's pounce!" Alya cried.

And that's when it happened. Trixx disappeared into the Fox Necklace around Alya's neck and her transformation occurred. It was an incredible sight to watch as this ordinary looking girl was engulfed in orange energy and changed from ordinary civilian clothes into a superhero costume. She ended up sporting an orange and white domino mask over her eyes, pointy fox ears on her head, an orange, white and black bodysuit that fully covered her, a tail "cape" that flowed out behind her and her hair turned a slightly red colour with white tips to resemble fox tails. She was also given her trademark weapon, a white and orange striped flute that she could create illusions with. Ladybug, Cat Noir and the others looked over her with awe, amazed to see a brand new Miraculer standing before them. No longer was it Alya Cesaire they were looking at. She was now Rena Rouge, the first new recruit in Ladybug and Cat Noir's new team. Rena Rouge admired herself all over, liking how she looked in the costume. As she admired herself, Nino found himself unable to stop staring at his girlfriend, mesmerized by how well the costume complimented her figure.

"Wow, I look great!" Rena exclaimed, "But I look like Lila when she was akumatized in this."

That made Lila shift uncomfortably. The last thing she needed was to be reminded of the Volpina incident where she became akumatized after Ladybug exposed her. Why did one of them have to wear something that would be such a painful reminder of that time?!

"At least you're the real one this time!" Ladybug said brightly, "Of course, no offence towards you Lila."

"Just don't call yourself Volpina, OK?" Lila muttered.

"I wasn't going to." Rena said truthfully, "Trixx told me on the way here my superhero name would be Rena Rouge. Quite cool, wouldn't you agree?"

Nino gazed at her near dreamily, eying her up and down with a smile.

"Always great with me, babe. It's catchy too!" He said sweetly, only to get a flirty smirk from his girlfriend as she reached her flute out and gently poked him.

"Heh, I'm not the only eye candy in this, I wanna see how you look, my turtle hubby." she pointed out, making Alix groan while Lila leaned into her.

"Have they always been like this?" she asked the skater, who nodded.

"Yup, it was hard enough seeing Ivan and Mylène at it, these two made it sappy. Think I'll get use to it when I see Marinette and Adrien get all smoochy." she whispered back, not seeing the slight blushes on the two heroes' faces.

Nino smiled and pointed at himself.

"You've got a shell padded warrior coming up, my babe!" he declared proudly as Wayzz floated out of his pocket, floating in front of the teenager.

"The command to transform is Wayzz, Shell on." he informed, sighing slightly as he prepared himself for this, having not transformed for decades. Nino grinned and stood proudly as he raised his hand that had the bracelet on.

"Alright then! Wayzz, shell on!"

In a split second, Wayzz was absorbed into the Miraculous, which spread out a green wave that took over Nino's form, transforming his body into the right form that was needed for him. After it died down, standing there was the new hero, Carapace, complete in a green bodysuit with a shell pattern on his chest, a black wrist bracelet covering his Miraculous, goggles covering his eyes with green glasses, a hood that covered his head with a light green and red stripes on the side, while a shield sat on his back. Carapace looked at his hand and all over his body, blushing slightly.

"Okay...more tighter than I thought..." he said nervously, only to get a whistle from Rena Rouge.

"I'm liking what I'm seeing, actually. Fits you well." she cheekily told him, blowing him a little kiss that made him either more comfortable or more shy as he stood still. Chat Noir, however, smiled as he put an arm around Carapace.

"Glad to have you on the team, pal! You look so cool!" he gladly told him, making Carapace more happier at this.

"Heh, glad I'm getting some support and not just eye candy from my foxy babe." he whispered, making Chat Noir grin with him.

Ladybug smiled at how this went, going onto looking to Alix and Lila.

"You can both go if you want" she told them. Lila shrugged but smiled.

"Speeds things up I guess. Just have to see who transforms first" she smiled at Alix, who grinned.

"Oh it's gonna be like that? Fine then." she said daringly as their Kwamis came out to their sides.

"For me, it's Fluff, Clockwise." Fluff told Alix.

"It's Pollen, Buzz On." Pollen instructed.

"Fluff, Clockwise!"

"Pollen, Buzz On!"

In just a second, both Kwamis were sucked into their Miraculouses, transforming their holders. Alix was enveloped by a white glow that overran her entire body. By the time she was done, she looked really different. Rabbit ears stuck out from her head, her hair was more open and free, a black collar and white fluff ball was on her neck. She looked like she was wearing a white leotard of some kind with blue pocket linings on her sides, her elbows to her hands were white, while she wore ankle high white boots with white lining going over her thighs, the rest of her bodysuit blue, while a domino mask sat on her face, with an umbrella sticking to her back.

Lila was soon finished after the yellow glow that took her faded, leaving her looking different. She wore a yellow and black bodysuit of sorts, with stripes stretching over her stomach under a vest covering of some kind, circular black marks on her shoulders, with thigh high black boots and shoulder long black gloves. Her hair looked different, her hanging sides now yellow with black stripes with the back of her hair doing the same. A domino mask sat on her face, showing her transformation was fully done.

The two girls admired themselves, taking in the colours of their costumes and how well they suited them.

"Whoa, this is too cool for words!" Bunnix exclaimed, "I'm in a genuine superhero costume!"

"Is this really what superheroes like to wear?" Queen B said as she took note on how form fitting the costume was, "I feel like I'm in some kind of kinky roleplay..."

"Aw don't say that, it's awesome!" Bunnix exclaimed, "Though it's kinda weird that my weapon's an umbrella." she murmured, taking note of her trademark weapon, "I know Ladybug has a yo-yo, which you wouldn't expect to be a weapon of some kind, but still, an umbrella of all things?"

"Maybe you can keep us dry if it rains." Queen B snickered.

Ladybug and Cat Noir gave Bunnix and Queen B a good look over themselves, thinking that the two girls looked very cool as their new superhero identities. So this was it, the Miraculous team was official. Everybody was here and everybody was in on the team. Now came the next part of their recruiting.

"So you're all geared up and have an idea on what your new superhero identities are like!" Ladybug announced brightly, "I'm glad you're all loving this so far. Now comes the next part...training. You won't be instant experts like me and Cat Noir currently are as you've only just become these heroes."

"So we're gonna teach you a few moves and help you unlock your true powers. Anyone ready to begin yet?" Cat Noir asked eagerly.

"READY!" the new superheroes cried enthusiastically.

"Then let's go!" Ladybug replied.

Meanwhile, Conner and M'gann had been watching the whole meeting so they could let Tim know how everything went between the French heroes. M'gann was glad to see that she'd have good news to give to her leader. Telepathically, she reached out to him and gave him the report.

"Their chosen candidates all accepted and are now about to train. That's one step of the plan down." the Martian informed.

"Good to hear M'gann." Tim replied with his own mind, "When the time is right, we can make ourselves known to them and take the battle to the Light. I hope they'll fight well and live up to Ladybug and Cat Noir's reputations."

"I have a feeling The Light will be in for a pounding with these new heroes..." M'gann replied confidently.

All they could do now was wait and see how the training sessions played out between the new Miraculers...

* * *

_**The Miraculous Team has been formed and its newest recruits are ready to embrace the superhero life! Will they be ready for the real thing though? Will they even be a match for the Light when they have to face them? **_

_**Tune in next time as the training session begins...**_


	6. Chapter 5: Training Session

_Chapter 5: Training Session_

A sharp finger was pointed at Rena Rouge from Ladybug, who gave her a confident smile.

"Okay, having read through the book, I can gladly inform you that your powers are illusions! It's said yours are more solid and can be controlled by pure imagination and will! Since you are my biggest fan, it's only fair you go first with me!" she told her, almost excited at getting to teach her best friend her new powers.

Queen B raised an eyebrow.

"More solid illusions? That's something, I guess" she said, slightly put off at the idea. Rena Rouge gave her a reminding finger.

"No need to get jealous, we're on the same team here." she reminded as she approached Ladybug.

Queen B nodded.

"I know. Just glad these ones are gonna get used for good, unlike when I went nuts." she said glumly, not wanting to think about that meteorite illusion she made before. Ladybug looked over Rena's shoulder with a smile.

"You're next after I've taught Rena." she assured, stunning Queen B slightly.

Near the other side, Carapace and Bunnyx were talking to Chat Noir, who grinned as he hooked an arm over their shoulders.

"Thanks to doing some research in our time off, me and M'Lady know about the powers you posses, so it's my great honour to train you both. You'll be catastic by the time we're finished!" he assured, making Carapace smile while Bunnyx rolled her eyes.

"Dude, you are talking my language! I wish I was friends with you sooner like my girl is with Ladybug!" he cried happily, making Chat Noir chuckle nervously at his comment.

"Just don't overdo the puns, you two. I might pull some pranks, but I'm not that crazy to your extent." Bunnyx said, a slight smirk coming onto her face.

"Well, if that's what you want, it's what you'll get! Now, Carapace, from what I researched, you have the ability to create a construct of a turtle shell of any size. Your call for it is Shell-ter." Chat Noir told Carapace, who glanced at his wrist bracelet and smiled.

"Sounds easy enough. Shell-ter!" he then cried, throwing his fist out to his side...only for nothing to happen, making him frown. Chat Noir smiled nervously while Bunnyx giggled, catching his attention and making him look sheepish.

"I...did it wrong, didn't I?" he said miserably, feeling as if he had a big prank pulled in him.

"Clearly." Bunnyx jabbed while Chat Noir walked up behind him and took his shield off his back, handing it to him.

"I can see what you were thinking, that the power must come from the Miraculous to pull off a superpower. It's like that with my ring, but it's not the case with everyone. In your case, it's your shield." he explained to him, making Carapace look down at it and nod.

"Okay. I'll listen this time. How does it work?" He asked, making his feline friend smile as he explained it to him.

From where they were, Queen B smirked.

"Your boyfriend loves to jump right into it all assuming, hey Alya?" she asked as she looked at Rena Rouge, who was fiddling with her flute.

"Yeah, well he's stuck in an era where everyone became a expert at superpowers almost straight away. This time I wish that was the case, because I've never played a flute in my life, or controlled my thoughts at the same time." she grumbled as she blew into one end, but nothing happened. Ladybug smiled and patted her friend's shoulder.

"This is the whole point of training, we learn and do better. Don't beat yourself up, we've only just started." she assured, getting a sigh from Rena Rouge.

"Easy for you to say, you are already in the hero business." she said in frustration as she blew into the hole again but nothing happened.

Ladybug decided to pull the flute down and gave her a stern look.

"Don't push yourself. It wasn't easy for me, I was all over the place when I started. In your case, you have to clear your mind and then think of something solid in your head, say Mirage, then use the flute." she instructed, making Rena Rouge frown.

"Clear my mind? That'll be hard, Girl...but you did choose me, so I guess it's a try." she said in a hard tone as she walked to the corner to give herself some space.

Rena Rouge placed the flute on the ground and rested her hands on it, clouding her eyes to think carefully about a thought she could bring to life. Queen B smiled.

"She's got an idea of it and is trying, gotta give her that." she noted, getting a nod from Ladybug.

"That is true and I'm glad she is trying. Let's see what she comes up with." she said in deep interest as they watched Rena Rouge sigh. The fox styled hero then lifted the flute to her lips and rested her fingers over the other holes. Keeping her eyes closed, she spoke the word.

"Mirage." with that, she blew away into her flute and sung a bit of a rhythm, causing orange like smoke to emit from the flute that slowly took the form of two little children by her feet. They slowly formed into defining features of dark like skin, brown hair and one wore a pink dress, the other wore a yellow like one. They looked identical, for they were twins. Ladybug giggled in awe while Queen B smiled.

"Now that's adorable!" the former said as she took in the illusions of Etta and Ella, who smiled sweetly as Rena Rouge opened her eyes to see her work. Her eyes lit up upon seeing them.

"Ohhhhh, why hello there little ones, are you happy to meet your new hero, fluffy Rena Rouge?" she teased as she petted their heads, making the illusions giggle. Queen B giggled.

"Now that's something I've gotta work on, be great with children." she said sweetly.

It was then though the illusions turned to look at Carapace, who was trying to plant his shield on the ground properly to call out Shell-ter. They giggled and squealed at seeing him, catching his attention and making him gasp as they ran at him.

"Oh man, not the future sister in-laws!" He cried as they leapt at him, not seeing how much laughter had taken in Chat Noir and Bunnyx. Carapace cried as he slammed his shield on the ground and said the word.

"SHELL-TER!" he screamed.

All of a sudden, a flash of green enveloped everyone's sight, blinding them briefly. Where they were, M'gann gasped as she then concentrated her powers, her eyes glowing to keep up the illusion of an empty path under the bridge. Conner took her arms carefully and eased her as he saw what came next. From where Carapace was standing, he created a green shell like construct that surrounded himself, Chat Noir and Bunnyx, sending the illusions of Etta and Ella flying away and turning them into puffs of orange smoke.

"Hey look, I did it dudes and dudettes!" Carapace cried, his tone of voice like he'd pulled off the most incredible feat since the time Albert Einstein coined up the famous "e=mc2" equation.

"Yeah, pity you just "killed" my sisters doing so." Rena Rouge muttered, taking note that his ability caused her illusions to vanish.

"Oh...sorry about that." Carapace said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

"I guess the lesson is to keep your distance from Carapace's Shell-ter if you're an illusion." Queen B snickered teasingly.

"Yeah, it doesn't hurt any of us at least so no biggie." Cat Noir reassured, "Besides, Rena's just teasing you buddy."

"Yeah, she does that a lot." Carapace said with a mock tone of annoyance that made his girlfriend giggle.

"Well can we save the teasing for afterwards? I thought we were meant to be training!" Bunnyx said in annoyance.

"What's wrong with having a little fun while we're at it?" Queen B protested, "I know I could do with some fun given my home life as the daughter of two boring politicians."

"There's nothing wrong with that at all everyone, but at the same time, you have to remember that superhero work isn't all fun and games." Ladybug warned, stepping into the conversation, "Me and Cat Noir can speak from experience..."

The others nodded, knowing what the spotty heroine meant. She too had been present when the gruesome demise of Chloe Bourgeois had happened at the Riddler's hands. As far as they knew, it had been the first time in Ladybug's superhero career that she'd ever witnessed a death while on duty.

"It still makes me shudder to think about our time on Apokalips." Cat Noir added, "THAT is an experience I don't wanna go through again!"

"Was it that bad?" Rena asked sympathetically.

The silent nod she received from the two was enough to tell her that it was. They didn't need to say anything to answer that question.

"Dude, dudette, that must've been real rough on you two." Carapace said softly.

"It was, but we were lucky we had Wonder Woman to help us pull through." Ladybug said brightly, "Thanks to her, we're here right now to mentor you all and make you the heroes of Paris's future!"

"And I'm as ready as anyone else is to become that!" Bunnyx cried enthusiastically, twirling her umbrella, "It's gonna feel great knowing that I can pitch in and help you both! So how does my power work?" she asked, keen to get back into the training.

Chat Noir smiled as he turned to her.

"Thanks to having our research book, yours is easy for us to understand. You using it is a different thing. I guess Fluff filled you in on the lack of a time limit when you use your powers." he pointed out as he approached her, getting a nod from the blue and white costumed girl.

"Yeah. She said that because of her time abilities, she draws on energy all around us, so I don't have to worry about running out of time after I use my powers. Guess it's a matter of harnessing that energy to use my powers?" she asked, trying to get some understanding with her trainer, who nodded.

"Yup, your special ability is called Burrow. With that, you can use it to travel across different points in time, that means either go back or forward, or jump to a different location in the same time point." he told her. Bunnyx grinned, looking excited to do it.

"Awesome! How do I do it!? Do I just wave my umbrella around and call out my power?" she asked enthusiastically, getting a giggle from the feline.

"Kinda. You have to use either your hand or your umbrella to draw a circle, like a rune. Whatever you think, it will open the pathway for you." he explained to her, leaving her stunned.

"Oh, whatever I think? Okay, better not go back to the nineteenth century or to my old age home, gotta think clearly, like Alya did." she said more to herself as she walked off, thinking it over to herself on what she should try.

It was then two bleeps were heard from Carapace and Rena Rouge, who gasped as their superhero looks disappeared from their bodies, turning them back to normal and releasing their Kwamis from their Miraculouses. Nino waved his hands madly.

"Oooooh dude! You forgot to tell us about our time limits!" he cried, as if he was caught with his hand robbing the game store. Alya looked at Ladybug, who smiled sheepishly as the dark skinned girl raised her eyebrow.

"Guess we need to make sure we find a hiding place when we're out fighting after we use our powers?" she asked knowingly, remembering her previous meetings with Ladybug.

"Yup. That and you have to use your powers with care when the time for them is right. And keep a lot of food on you so you can feed your Kwamis when you want to get your super powers back." she informed, with Trixx flying up to Alya's face with a pleading look.

"You did bring food, didn't you my dear lil' cub?" he asked pleadingly, making the girl smile "I keep to my word, my fluffy ball. Come here." she said as she cupped Trixx in her hands to take him to the corner to feed him.

Nino pulled out a food packet he got for Wayzz.

"Hope you'll like them." he said in a hopeful tone as Wayzz floated with him.

"We Kwamis have our preferences, but we eat just about anything. Let's see what you have." he said brightly as he went off with Nino.

Ladybug smiled, turning to Queen B.

"While they recharge, let's get started with you. You ready to use your power?" she asked with encouraging tone in her voice. Queen B nodded, raising her fists.

"Utterly ready, tell me what I have to do." she said, wanting to get on with the training.

Where they were, Conner eased M'gann as she stopped her eyes glowing, looking at her in concern.

"You okay? You looked like you stressed yourself a bit there." he said, only for his girlfriend to smile reassuringly at him.

"It's okay, just shocked me a bit. The illusion is holding up really well." she said, pointing at the lack of interest the public were taking in what was going on under the bridge. Conner smiled, smoothing her arm.

"As long as you're sure. Gotta say, their doing decently. They just need to catch on a few things." he pointed out, getting a beam from M'gann.

"Yup, I'm sure they'll get the hang of it. I think Master Fu will be pleased to hear how it's going." she said as she saw what was going on now.

M'gann and her Kryptonian boyfriend were about to witness Queen B use her powers for the first time. The politician's kid-turned-superhero was listening intently as Ladybug explained to her the powers of the Bee Miraculous.

"Your ability is Venom, an ability that allows you to paralyze your opponents." Ladybug informed, "One sting from your Venom ability and your opponent will be completely immobilized."

"Dude, with a name like that, I'd have thought "venom" meant something completely different, like the ability to become a big gooey black guy with sharp teeth!" Carapace remarked.

Queen B shot the Turtle Miraculer a confused look as if he'd said something incredibly bizarre like "Do birds have a toilet in the sky to use?".

"I don't get it." she said, baffled.

"Don't mind him. He reads way too much Spider-Man." Rena remarked, ribbing her boyfriend with her elbow.

Queen B nodded. She never had time to read superhero comics like Spider-Man due to her parent's busy lives so she naturally would miss a pop-culture reference like that.

"OK...so how does this ability work? Do I use my spinning top or something?" Queen B asked, looking down at the weapon she held in her hand.

"I believe that it becomes a stinger which you use to immobilize your opponents." Ladybug said, "Give it a shot and see how you do."

"Will any of you object if I test the power on you?" Queen B asked nervously, "I won't know if it works if I haven't got anyone to paralyze."

"Well don't look at me." Bunnyx muttered, "I don't wanna know what it's like to be unable to move..."

Ladybug raised a hand nervously, giving the others a sympathetic look.

"I'll do it." She offered, stunning Queen B for a second while getting shocked looks from the others, her boyfriend looking at her up and down with lots of confusion in his eyes.

"M'Lady? You sure you want to put yourself into a stiff state from head to toe?" he asked her, not sure if he was going to like the result of this. The blue haired heroine smiled and gave him a look that told him she knew what she was doing, looking back to Queen B, who looked at her top and then to Ladybug.

"Are you really sure?" she asked. She got a nod from her mentor.

"Consider it a slight payback to when I humiliated you." she pointed out, stretching her arms out to leave herself as an open target.

Queen B felt a slight shiver of cold in her heart. Part of her was going to enjoy this, but part of her wasn't gonna like what she'd see. Sighing, she raised her spinning top and aimed it at Ladybug.

"Okay...VENOM!" she cried.

Yellow energy swirled around the top as it then took on the form of a stinger. She let out a battle cry and charged at Ladybug, who closed her eyes and gritted her teeth as she knew this would hurt. Queen B shot it forward and slammed it into the stomach of the red heroine, who felt a sharp jab like a flu vaccine hit her. Her eyes went wide as she felt a hot sting run through her whole body. Her muscles went tense and then very stiff, leaving her arms stuck out as she stood rooted to the ground. She could only offer a small nod and smile to Queen B as she pulled the stinger out of her stomach, helping to show she was pleased.

Chat Noir quickly ran to his girlfriend's side and gently placed her onto the ground, giving her a concerned look.

"Um...M'Lady, can you still talk?" he asked, not sure he was liking this. Funnily enough, she actually smiled.

"Yup...actually feels good, especially in this position..." she said stiffly. Chat smiled in response, pleased to see she was okay.

"I always enjoyed this position of yours when we're alone." he whispered, getting a blush out of her.

"We'll keep it that way." she whispered back, a slight seductive tone to her voice.

Queen B was still staring at her stinger and let out a huge breath of air, looking to Chat Noir as he stood up.

"Is she Okay? I hope I didn't hurt her too bad" she questioned nervously. The feline hero smiled.

"She said it actually feels good. You know how it works now." he pointed out. Queen B let out another lot of air and smiled.

"As long as she's okay. Still, I guess I'm gonna lose power in a second." she said as she touched her hair comb.

"Yup. You can't use Venom when you go straight into a fight, so use it at the right point of battle" he instructed as he then turned to Bunnyx, "You figured it out, yet?"

"I'm hoping so." Bunnyx said uncertainly, "I'm certain my thoughts are clear enough to give my powers a go. I'm gonna try say, a few minutes ago so I can stop Queen B paralyzing Ladybug."

"Well now's the time to try it! Go for it!" Cat Noir cried enthusiastically.

Bunnyx obliged, just as eager to try her power out as the others were to see it. Ladybug was stuck lying on the ground, straining to look with her eyes for she still couldn't move. Out of all the Miraculers, Bunnyx easily had the coolest power. What superhero WOULDN'T want the ability to time travel? It would be a treat to see it work. Nobody dared move or speak as the blue and white heroine concentrated, holding her hands out and preparing to use her power.

"Here goes nothing..." the tomboy skater murmured, "BURROW!"

After that cry of the word, Bunnyx drew a circle in the air with her hands and then thrust them forward, throwing the circle ahead of herself. The circle was completely white and hung in the air just above the ground like a wormhole that had just randomly opened up out of thin air. Bunnyx stared, impressed with what had happened. Now to see if she'd done it correctly. The others watched, including Conner and M'gann, as Bunnyx then jumped through the portal and disappeared into nothing. It was amusing for the others that the classic novel _Alice in Wonderland_ seemed to play into Bunnyx's theme and power. Alix was now Alice going deep into the rabbit hole, and only she would know where it went.

_One minute earlier..._

Queen B hesitated for a moment as she prepared to test her ability out on Ladybug. Even though she'd gotten over the little spat they'd had before, a part of her still felt like she'd enjoy this, a little moment of revenge for being exposed in front of Adrien all those months ago.

"Okay...VENOM!" she cried.

Yellow energy swirled around the top as it then took on the form of a stinger. She let out a battle cry and charged at Ladybug, who closed her eyes and gritted her teeth as she knew this would hurt. Queen B shot it forward but her attack never hit its target for a white portal suddenly opened up out of nowhere and out of it came the time-travelling Bunnyx, shooting out as if fired from a gun. The very appearance of Bunnyx made Queen B stop in her tracks and stare incredulously at her. Ladybug, Cat Noir, Rena Rouge and Carapace shared her amazed expression, unable to believe that this blue and white clad girl just popped out of nowhere. It didn't take them long to realize what it was though.

"So I guess that's your time travel power, right?" Queen B asked.

"It sure is. I just travelled from one minute ago and now here I am!" Bunnyx exclaimed, "Can't stop though, see you back in the present!"

She then used her power a second time to quickly leap back into the present before herself from one minute ago would notice. She reappeared in front of her friends, all of them amazed to see her back again so soon. It was clear her time travel had worked for Bunnyx noticed there wasn't another one of her this time around, meaning this was back to the present.

"Hey, it worked!" Bunnyx exclaimed, "I jumped back a minute ago and now I'm back in the present!"

"Yeah, we just saw you leave a minute ago!" Carapace exclaimed, "You stopped Queen B in the middle of her test, though she ended up carrying on after you jumped back here so you didn't change anything."

Bunnyx turned to see Ladybug still lying paralyzed on the ground, annoyed that she hadn't stopped that from happening. She wasn't too downtrodden, acknowledging that at least she knew her powers worked.

"Well I still time-travelled, that's something." she said proudly, "Just imagine all the places I can go with this Miraculous! All the historical periods I could visit! Wow, this is so cool!"

"Whatever you do, don't do something stupid that'd alter the timeline and doom us all." Queen B remarked.

Bunnyx frowned as if annoyed Queen B should even THINK to say something so obvious. Of course she wouldn't do anything like that! She was savvy enough to know from many films and TV shows the consequences of messing with time!

"At least we know all our powers and how they work now." Ladybug said proudly, "Good work on everyone's part. I have a feeling this team's going to come together beautifully and any big threats that come our way will be powerless against us! They'll think twice before they mess with Paris again!"

"Yeah, about that, you've said you're gathering us all together because there's a big threat coming, but you haven't exactly told us WHAT this threat is." Rena Rouge noted, "Are you planning on keeping that to yourselves or do you mean to tell us eventually."

"We were going to the moment training was over." Ladybug replied truthfully, "We just wanted you all to familiarize yourselves with your new powers first before we went into details."

Conner and M'gann looked at each other and nodded. They both agreed that Ladybug had picked the right time to let them know about the Light. They watched on as Ladybug and Cat Noir began to fill them in on what they and the others had let them know back in the hotel yesterday. Queen Bee quickly used her stinger to recall the venom so Ladybug could finally stand up again as she spoke. Ladybug was relieved to be able to move again.

Having listened to them, the new Miraculous users were left with mixed emotions upon taking this in. The two didn't tell them everything about what they learnt, not just yet about the involvement of the Young Justice. Queen B had listened with a built up amount of annoyance, letting her frustrations known with an exasperated grunt.

"Ugh! Should've known! Politics are always a tool for monsters getting into power! I always say politics are for idiots!" she ranted, clearly not liking what she heard.

"Who doesn't?" Rena reminded before giving her own thoughts on the whole thing, "I've gotta say, with all that's happened here, it makes sense they'd want to come and put a figurehead in power for them to control. Should've guessed that Brian guy had something to do with it. Just not sure if I like the idea of battling an immortal man." she noted, starting to sound less enthused as it sunk into her.

"But now it's more clear why they've got us to join them, Alya. Ladybug and Chat Noir will need all the help they can get in fighting this Savage guy." Bunnyx pointed out, sounding like she took it quite well.

"Yeah, and to be honest, these two have done enough for us in the past, putting their lives in the line of fire for our lives, it's time we gave something back to them. Even if it means getting turned into Turtle soup, I'll gladly do it, for them and for my family." Carapace pointed out, his mind already made up and was sticking to it. Rena looked thoughtful for a second and her face looked a bit more easier with the words settling in.

"Well, that's a point. And I guess it's best you guys build your numbers without needing the Justice League babysitting us." she concluded, with Queen B nodding.

"Yeah. As great as those guys are, we can't keep relying them for everything, otherwise the people we protect are gonna lose faith in us." she stated, earning a smile from Ladybug.

"Us? Talking like a team already." she pointed out, feeling proud of how determined everyone became in a short amount of time.

"Well girl, I feel like we've been a team all along with how much you've been there to help us and cooperate in beating Akumas, I'd say it's fair we feel like a team already." Rena Rouge replied, resting her flute on her shoulder proudly.

"I guess this ain't the end of training though, right? Gotta meet up tomorrow, before the start of next week?" Carapace then asked, sounding a little nervous at asking that question. He gotten a nod from Chat Noir.

"You got that right, pal! Tomorrow we meet back here and we practice combat training, both with and without our powers!" he said, sounding excited about what training they'd give them next.

"Whoa, so what, I gotta start training like Rocky? Get up at six in the morning and jog here? Pretty rad, but I'm up for it." Carapace replied, already picturing himself as a much younger Sylvester Stallone as he raised his fists enthusiastically, making Chat Noir giggle.

"Heh, just meet us here tomorrow. When we're done, we're gonna give you a bit more information on what's going on. You'll be in for a treat." he promised with a more friendlier tone that made everyone feel more excited.

"You mean, you'll tell us who you are? Is that what it is?" Bunnyx asked eagerly.

The two lovers of Paris looked stunned and thoughtful for a few seconds. Ladybug decided to speak up, choosing her words carefully.

"Um...no. We won't." she confirmed in a soft tone, getting a weird look from everyone.

"Wait, you won't? Why?" Queen B asked, feeling a little offended at her answer.

"Yeah, I mean, you know our identities, why not share yours?" Carapace asked with a raised eyebrow. Chat Noir offered them a soft look as he spoken his words.

"I know you might feel upset, but the thing is, we won't tell you who we are yet. We will, just not tomorrow." he told the Turtle hero, with Ladybug offering Bunnyx a small smile.

"I'm sorry. When we decided to choose you guys, we agreed to share our identities only after the threat of Vandal has been taken care of. That and if you found out who we are tomorrow, you'd probably get distracted and be asking us all kinds of questions." she told Bunnyx. Rena Rouge couldn't help but smile, understanding what she was saying.

"She's got a point, guys. If they tell us who they are, we'd be less focussed on the threat to our homes. And for all we know, this Vandal guy might have spies all around the city, we find out who these guys are, we might let it slip. We saw on the news what Joker did with the Miraculouses, it's only right they keep it a secret for a while." she told the others, who shared a look with each other as the words sunk in.

"I guess that's a point. Can't have my coach getting his powers stolen again." Carapace said in a more understanding tone, with Queen B nodding as she looked at Ladybug.

"As long as you tell us who you are after we've beaten this Vandal Savage." she reminded.

Ladybug smiled.

"You know we will" she told the Italian girl.

Everybody was satisfied with the compromise. Now that training was over, the Parisian teens all left the Pont Neuf bridge to return home before any of their parents would notice they'd gone. The moment everyone had left, Ladybug and Cat Noir took a quick moment to pass by Conner and M'gann. Of course they knew they were there this whole time watching them. It had been agreed between Ladybug and Robin that at least two members of Young Justice would be on sight to watch the new recruits with Conner and M'gann being the volunteers.

"Gotta say, you really picked the right kids for those Miraculous items you weild." M'gann said approvingly, "They've got the perfect attitude towards the superhero gig and they really trust you two so much!"

"I'm convinced you guys could be this city's very own Young Justice or Teen Titans at this rate." Conner joked, "Imagine if we decided to call you guys "Teen Titans France" or something."

"I'd prefer something less derivative." Ladybug said dismissively, her face stretched out in a grin that showed she appreciated the joke regardless.

"I couldn't be prouder of these guys, really I couldn't." Cat Noir said with admiration, "They answered the call, took to our offer in a heartbeat and are already showing great potential. It's gonna be awesome having more heroes to fight alongside with in this city. I'll feel better when we can reveal ourselves to them though as it still feels wrong to keep ourselves secret while we know who everyone else is." he said more solemnly.

Ladybug patted his shoulder with sympathy, understanding completely what he meant. She too shared that same guilt and she knew that even from the first day she donned the Ladybug earrings, she had wanted to tell somebody about her incredible new life. She'd wanted to scream from the rooftops how she was not just meek, clumsy Marinette, but the bold, brave and Miraculous Ladybug that swung around the Parisian rooftops swatting akumas and saving the day while trying not to miss school every day. Letting at least Alya, Nino, Alix and Lila know the truth would take some weight off her shoulders, as would her parents when the time was right to reveal it to them. For now...

"We promised we'd let them know after the Light is defeated, and that's a promise we're gonna keep kitty." Ladybug insisted, "Don't worry about it."

Cat Noir nodded.

"Of course, I'm just thinking out loud." he said softly.

"Well me and my team won't interfere with you two on that." M'gann put in, "It's up to you when you reveal your identities to your friends. For now, we've gotta keep preparing ourselves for when the Light makes its move."

"I like to think we're a step ahead of them for once but I can't shake off this feeling that they're plotting to make a move just as we are." Conner muttered, "I wish we could make a move now while we might still have the advantage of surprise!" he growled, punching his fists together.

"And we will, but we've still gotta train our new heroes first." Ladybug said hastily, "We can't rush them into this you know. When they're ready, we can let them in on our alliance and be ready to strike!"

"I hope we're not too late by then..." M'gann murmured cryptically.

She and Conner knew full well the Light wouldn't wait for them. They would be moving in and making a grab for control of Paris right now. The next few days would determine if they could move faster than their enemies...

* * *

Meanwhile, Rena Rouge had returned home and quickly sneaked back into her house by sliding through the window of her bedroom, which she'd left open for the purpose of being able to come back in that way. Once she was back in, she depowered and sat down heavily on her bed, massaging her temples while Trixx floated beside her, his cute face looking drained as if he was ready to scoff a whole chicken.

"Whew that was more tiring then I expected..." the Martiquen girl mused, "I can imagine that's how Ladybug and Cat Noir feel after a hard day's work of protecting Paris!"

"You'll get used to it over time little cub, just as they did." Trixx said brightly, "I gotta say, you really were having the time of your life out there, weren't you?"

Alya beamed brightly, tiredness doing nothing to stop that smile of hers.

"You bet! I actually got to work with Ladybug, and she gave me superpowers! Well, I mean, you give me the powers, but she gave you to me, you get what I mean?" she replied, trying not to offend the Kwami, who nodded with a equally charming look.

"I get what ya mean, my lil darling." he assured, watching on as she continued to express her enthusiasm.

"I mean, I never thought I'd get the chance really. I just saw myself as a helper on the sidelines or a wannabe reporter that kept getting in the way. But having these powers and knowing I can do some good with them is just friggin awesome!" Alya went on, her energy coming right back on new levels.

Trixx giggled and sat himself on the bedside table next to her phone, giving it a little nudge when it sent out a message about the Ladyblog. He swiped it open and saw the profile page, the views she got and the followers she had. He smiled as he took it in.

"You shouldn't discredit your previous work or view it with negativity. They did more good for Ladybug than you can imagine. Combine those with Rena Rouge, and you'll be using the best of those things, my ball of fluff." he softly told her, leaving Alya touched at the kind words the normally sly Kwami given her. She sat on her bed next to him and beamed as she smoothed his head.

"That'll be something worth trying. For a fox, you have wise words." she told him as she smoothed his nose, making him giggle.

"Us Kwamis have been around for centuries. We're not all as wise as Nooroo, but we have our own sense of wisdom." he pointed out, getting a intrigued look from Alya.

"Yeah, about Kwamis...how many are there of you? I mean, there's gotta be more." she told him. Trixx nodded with a smile, seeing how well Alya was picking up on this.

"So many. There's twelve of us, at least as far as we know." he told the girl, who looked even more interested.

"Twelve but probably more? Ohhhhh, the possibilities! Just hope there's no spider ones, it'd look hideous! I'd love to see a parrot one though, that'd be funny." she told him, already imagining the many others out there.

She didn't see his face drop at the mention of spiders, and it made him look away slightly as a shiver came over him. Trixx just had to get reminded of those things...No, he couldn't look back now. He had to keep an eye on his cub, and didn't need her noticing him getting sad. He turned to her with a smile, sitting in her hand.

"I can name them all for you if you want, darling. You don't mind snakes, do you?" He asked with a knowing look. Alya smiled at him.

"Heh, I've held a few of them, they seem nice, so I won't mind. Tell away, my little fluff." she said, happy to listen into what he was going to tell her.

* * *

It was a bit different for Nino, for while he sneaked back into his home with ease, his conversation with Wayzz wasn't that easy at first. After detransforming, he spun on his back like he just finished a rap dance, feeling pleased with he just did, not seeing Wayzz sit himself on the side. The green Kwami just sighed and looked out the window, his mind elsewhere. While Nino kept spinning on the floor, Wayzz looked around himself and took in the room. Slightly big, but more decorative of a different kind than the spa. Posters of all kinds were everywhere, from science fiction to musicians, several toy ornaments sat on the shelves and a slightly untidy bed sat to the side, with piles of CDs on the window side. A slight nervousness came over the Kwami as he took this in before he looked back out the window.

Getting to his feet, Nino smiled as he let his energy run through him.

"Ohhhh dude! That gave me a boost! Oh this is gonna be so rad, I can create shields, I'm working with my babe, and we'll be kicking some bad guy butt! My dude, you made me feel like I can walk on the wall of a building!" He said happily as he spun and pointed his fingers at Wayzz, only to find the green Kwami was staring out of the window, like he didn't hear him.

His eyebrows raised, Nino walked to him, standing next to him with a worried look.

"Hey, you Okay lil' pal?" he asked softly, getting Wayzz to suddenly look back, stunned for a second. Nino smiled nervously and waved his hand.

"Sorry, was my dancing bad? Did it creep you out?" he asked casually. The Kwami shook his head and gave him his own smile, if a little shy.

"No, it's not your dancing, Nino. It's just...this is the first time I've been in another house for decades. And given to a new owner after such a long time. It's not easy, readjusting to these changes." he explained, his voice getting sad as he took in the room again, looking greatly nervous as he realised he'd be spending the night here.

Nino felt a cold fun of guilt come over him at what the Kwami was saying. Looking at him, he could see despite the power he had, Nino could see Wayzz was like a nervous child. He knew he needed to cheer him up, so he went on with it. He started by gently scooping Wayzz into his hand and smiled gently at him.

"I'm sorry if this is all weird to you, but I can promise I'll do my best. Is there anything I can do for you?" He asked softly. He gotten a grateful smile from the Kwami, who sat down in his hand.

"You can tell me a bit about yourself. Just don't go too far into the nineties like you already are, Nino." he jokingly told him. The teenage boy giggled and pointed to himself.

"Heh, I'll try. Where do you want me to start off?" he asked, eager to get on an even foot with the Kwami, who responded.

"What are your hobbies? You clearly have a passion for music. What types do you like?" he asked, seeing what benefits he might get from this.

* * *

Over with Queen B, she had successfully managed to sneak back into her home and had de-transformed upon re-entering her boring bedroom. She hadn't been worried about her parents seeing her as Queen B as she knew they wouldn't be back at this time of day. They were often back very late so she would be in the clear and would never have to explain her absences to them. Truth be told, Lila doubted they'd even notice she was gone if they ever were home before her on a day of superhero work. She took a moment to slump against the wall and run her hands through her hair, amazed at just what she'd been through this past hour or two. She wasn't even sure how long it had been since she left, it had all happened so fast. Pollen was floating beside Lila, looking very pleased with herself and her owner.

"I'm so glad to be with a new owner after so long." the Bee Kwami chirped excitedly, "It's been so boring having nobody to hang around with and bestow my powers to someone. And I'm very proud of how you've been so far Lila. You're proving Ladybug was right to trust you with a Miraculous."

"Yeah, thanks Pollen." Lila said, sounding uncertain.

Pollen could see Lila was troubled and was quick to inquire.

"What is it my queen?" she asked.

"Oh? It's nothing really, don't worry about it." Lila said quickly.

Her Kwami friend just gave her a stern look, her arms folded and her eyes narrowed. It was the kind of look that suggested "Don't lie to me missy, I know something's troubling you so please tell me". Lila sighed, knowing she couldn't lie to her Kwami, not when she'd promised herself to be more honest.

"OK, yes, something IS troubling me." she admitted, "You know when Ladybug asked me to test my power on her? I hate to admit it but...when I paralyzed her, a part of me...kinda enjoyed it."

Pollen nodded, her face full of concern for her owner.

"I see...why is that?" she asked.

Lila quickly filled her in on the time she'd been akumatized by Hawk Moth due to Ladybug exposing her as a liar.

"I know it's wrong for me to enjoy pretty much getting to paralyze Ladybug with that in mind and that I must seem like a horrible person Pollen." Lila said grimly, "It's just that despite my desire to be more honest and be a better person, deep down I still kinda resent Ladybug for humiliating me like that. So as bad as it was, it did feel kinda cathartic getting to paralyze her like that. I bet you're disgusted with me having just admitted that now..."

The Italian girl slid down to the floor, tucking her knees against her chest and wrapping her arms around them. In that instant, she ended up looking like a scared child left alone at night. Pollen gazed upon her owner with sympathetic eyes and perched herself on one of Lila's knees. She looked back into Lila's own eyes, seeing just how full of fear and sorrow they were.

"I agree with you, it is wrong to have enjoyed paralyzing Ladybug like that. But admitting your wrongdoings and acknowledging they're wrong...that's the biggest step towards redemption anyone can take." Pollen said kindly, "The fact you recognize that it was wrong means you're not beyond saving Lila. A truly bad person wouldn't see that what they did was wrong, and you're certainly NOT a bad person Lila."

Lila took this in, realizing that Pollen's words were pretty potent and certainly gave her some food for thought. Maybe Pollen was right. If she had a bad feeling or thought and acknowledged it as such, it showed she was capable of recognizing right from wrong. And wasn't that the most important thing about superhero work? Being able to recognize right from wrong? Maybe her desire to improve from being a liar was improving her moral values. The Italian girl managed to smile despite everything, patting Pollen gently on the head.

"Well little bumblebee, if you think I'm not bad, then I must be better than I give myself credit for." she said warmly, "You know, I think Ladybug giving you to me is the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me. I should thank her for that next time we meet."

"That's my little queen!" Pollen cried enthusiastically, "Come tomorrow, we can show Ladybug what a great hero you'll be Lila! You and the rest of your friends!"

Lila couldn't help but feel pleased about her Kwami's kind words. As weird as it was to acknowledge the other Miraculers as "friends", she was going to enjoy having friends regardless, and indeed in an honest way. This superhero life was going to change everything for the better in her eyes...

* * *

Lastly, over at Alix's, she got back home the fastest, using her warp power after drawing a rune in the air of where she needed to go. A quick look at the clock told her she was still in the right time, making her sigh gladly as she turned back to normal, with Fluff flying out of her Miraculous, a pleasant look on her face as she sat with Alix on her bed.

"I have to say, you did better than I originally thought. You are not only a fast learner but a great thinker, little Kubdell." she praised the red haired speedster girl, who smiled sheepishly.

"It's given me reason to stay extra careful with my watch. And being more careful about these powers. If I stuck around any longer when I went back, I might've caused a paradox that could've destroyed the world." she pointed out, cringing at the thought of doing so.

Fluff smiled, seeing how well the girl was understanding of her powers. She could see it was still a shock to her, so she knew she needed to give her some words.

"Here's some advice for you: time travel isn't all about going back and forward in time, you can actually slow it down or speed it up for your perspective" she told the girl, who looked stunned.

"Okay...why didn't they tell me this when we were training?" she asked sharply, now seeing it was more important to use a different power than reversing time. Fluff chuckled.

"They don't know everything, and they are in a rush. Still, now that I've told you, you can see how this will best get used in a fight." she told her with a knowing look, making Alix grin as she leaned closer to the rabbit Kwami.

"Okay then. Tell me what to say, and I'll make good use of it tomorrow." she said, a plan forming in her head. Fluff grinned back and started to tell her of what exactly she needed to do with the abilities she spoke of.

They all didn't know that one by one, they were watched by Ladybug and Chat Noir, seeing how they were when they gotten home. They smiled gladly, seeing how well all of them were taking it now that they had time alone with their Kwamis. Chat had something interesting to talk about in regards to this.

"Heh, it's weird. Kinda feels like I've become a dad, teaching the basics to his kids." he pointed out, making his girlfriend giggle.

"That's how you see it? That's one way to look at this." she pointed out as she slid an arm around his upper body, resting it on his heart. Chat smiled happily down at his lover, taking in her bright blue eyes as she looked to him.

"Between you and me, Adrien, you'd make a great dad. You did really well with them today. Consider this an experiment if you think about it." she said softly, honesty coming right from her soul as she gazed up at him, her eyes going dreamy again.

Chat smiled, touched at his girlfriend's words. It hit him home to hear her say that, and it only made him imagine the little bundle of theirs they'd have someday. It'd be one of the best things he could have with Marinette.

Obviously, he came up with a response, a cheeky one to add.

"Well, I've been thinking of an experiment of something similar." he said with a slight purr as he rested his hand in her hip, getting a bright blush out of her as she trailed her finger up to his lips, giving him a seductive look.

"Heh, don't go too far. Consider this experiment one." she softly hinted, making his eyes go wide at her reply before a grin crossed his face.

Leaning in, he gently traced his lips over hers and pressed down softly, giving her time to respond. Both closed their eyes and took in the soft touches of their lips. For Ladybug, it was pure clouds of fluffy warmth as she enveloped her boyfriend over his shoulders while he took her into his arms. She was glad to finally do these things with him, her wishes had come true. She felt no tension from him, just happiness as he gently caressed her hips and back, pulling her closer to him as her body of spandex took in his tight leather covered body. Goodness this was the closest they had in being naked with each other...

They obviously didn't go too far, for they would have to return to their homes, but for now they were enjoying this moment of passion. They had time before tomorrow...

* * *

Tomorrow did come. The first to greet it was Lila, who felt a great weight lifted off her chest after she woke up. It was probably a better night sleep compared to the last few days.

"Mmm...amazing what a good night's sleep can do." Lila murmured to herself, "I suddenly feel like I can take on the world whatever it throws my way."

She stretched a little and climbed out of bed, quickly getting dressed so that she could set off with Pollen and resume training with Ladybug and Cat Noir. She couldn't help but wonder what was in store for today. Maybe she'd discover a whole new power the Bee Miraculous bestowed upon her. Lila liked to imagine she could summon a horde of bees that served her will and attacked her enemies. Maybe if she could do that, she'd have them sting her parents a few times for good measure. THAT would feel more cathartic then paralyzing Ladybug! Then suddenly, as if by coincidence, she ended up hearing voices talking downstairs. They were the voices of her parents of course, Lila could recognize them even if she barely spent time with them. Pollen was hovering by the door nervously.

"Are those your parents talking down there?" she whispered.

"You bet." Lila murmured, "I wonder what ramble they're on about now..."

She held open her jacket so Pollen could hide in it and walked downstairs to see her parents. As she entered the room, she ended up getting the biggest shock she'd had since the day Chloe had died. She felt like she could take on the world whatever it threw her way, yet she hadn't anticipated the world throwing THIS her way. Her parents were in the living room chatting to a bald-headed man with a scarred eye and a huge forehead. But it wasn't just any man.

The man they were conversing with...was Brian Beaumont.

* * *

_**The new Miraculers are getting under way with training but it seems that Lila's first obstacle as a hero has come. What will happen now she's meeting the very man whom Young Justice suspects to be a Light agent? Why is Brian Beaumont even here? All this and more next time...**_


	7. Chapter 6: Brain Beaumont

_Chapter 6: Brian Beaumont_

_What in the name of Rome is that freak doing in my house?!_ Lila exclaimed in her thoughts. The secret superhero didn't dare make a sound for she didn't want to be noticed by her parents or by Brian. She was even worried the sound of her own breathing might give her away.

It seemed incredible that the one person Ladybug and Cat Noir suspected of working for this so-called "Light" organization should be here right now, talking to her parents as if he'd been casually invited around for tea and biscuits! It almost seemed like a cruel joke to the poor girl and she had to take a moment to convince herself she wasn't dreaming, as pleasant as it would be for that to be the case. She kept herself hidden behind the door frame, making sure she could hear the conversation that was taking place in her living room without being seen. Pollen peeked her head out of her jacket and listened in herself, her antennae twitching furiously.

"Is that Brian Beaumont they're talking to?" she whispered.

"I wish I could say no..." Lila muttered.

The two kept as quiet as they could and listened in to what was being said. Whatever this conversation was about, they both knew Ladybug and Cat Noir needed to hear about it. What they would do next was anyone's guess but Lila would feel better passing on this information to them.

"I cannot say I am at all surprised to see that two esteemed people such as yourselves have a nice place like this to live in, although it does seem like you haven't fully moved in yet." Brian was saying. His French accent was so thick and heavily accented that anyone hearing it would have to question its authenticity.

That thing that struck Lila as unnerving was the man's voice. He sounded incredibly raspy and his voice was deliberately kept at a low level with a slightly slithering tone as if he was some kind of serial killer. She also couldn't ignore something else about his voice that didn't sound right. It almost sounded...artificial in a way, as if this man was somehow not speaking with his own voice. She would even go so far as to say he almost sounded like a robot.

"Si Signore Beaumont." Lila's father said meekly, "We travel a lot as you know so we often find ourselves moving from one place to the next. No rest for the weary as they say."

"Yes I quite understand." Brian replied softly, "The life of a politician is often busy and requires a lot of travel. I do hope you intend to stay in Paris for quite a while. This city really is a beautiful place to stay."

"We can't make any promises Signore." Lila's mother said grimly, "But so far, we're not required to go anywhere else so we could be here for quite a while. I'm glad about that myself as it means we can keep supporting your cause."

Brian smiled an oily smile. His scarred eye twitched with demonic pleasure.

"Merci my good friends." he purred, his voice so soft that he made the two politicians shudder, "I am very happy to hear you support my cause. A city without superheroes is a cause all people should aspire to. If only the rest of the weak-minded populace had the sense that you two have."

Lila did not like where this was going at all. It disgusted her to hear that her parents were not only taking to this man, but supporting his cause! She had to tell Ladybug and Cat Noir about this next time she saw them! For now, the Italian teen knew just what to do. She quickly slipped her phone out of her jacket pocket and pressed record so she could record the conversation. It'd be easier to recap to her new friends what she'd heard if she had recorded evidence to give to them, as well as remove any lingering doubt that she could be lying again.

"Do you two have any plans on how to forward my cause and sway public opinions towards me in this current race to become the new Mayor of Paris?" Brian inquired.

Lila felt herself freeze for a second, feeling like she just entered a different world. Her parents were all on board in helping this man? That did not sound right to her. Her parents working with such a strange and creepy person rang all kinds of bells to the Italian girl, who realised whatever was going to come next would need to get passed on with not a single thing missed.

"We provide examples. Proper examples to sway everyone over." her father responded, his voice going serious as his eyes glanced up to the ceiling, making Lila frown.

_Is he talking about me?_ she thought to herself. Her mother then spoke up, going into more detail.

"Yes. Since we came here, we noticed that the majority of the Akuma victims have not gotten the right therapy they needed and were mostly given poor treatment by Ladybug and Chat Noir. With them both being teenagers, I feel the safety and responsibility they give is untrustworthy. Ladybug did get our daughter akumatized because of that Agreste boy, humiliated her right in the public eye. More and more people that gotten akumatized afterwards gotten more dangerous. Look what came next, the Bourgeois' daughter got killed, turns out Hawk Moth was Gabriel Agreste, then that alien monster came and killed many civilians, and Ladybug and Chat Noir could barely handle her alone, with or without Wonder Woman. They have become mere targets that criminals all over the world come here to fight, with many innocents killed because of it, or hurt." she explained to Brian, who hummed in delight at what he was hearing, like he was being fed sweets of the most delicious of types.

"We intend to go forward to the public with this, and we'd like to share this with you in your election campaign. Giving everyone these facts will be enough to help them realise we need a man of realism in charge, not someone who idolises the superheroics of those who can't protect us and give us more trouble." Lila's father added, making her withhold her gasp as it settled in on what they were doing, and it made her veins swell with hot blood at the what they were saying.

Brian smiled as he gestured at their computer.

"I am sure you've piled all this up in your documents, Madame Rossi?" he asked interestingly, getting a nod from her.

"Yes. I will send them to you as soon as you return home." she confirmed, making his eyes twinkle in delight.

"That is very good. I look forward to reading it all over. If I'm to win, I'll make sure to return power to our dutiful officers. If Ladybug and Chat Noir resist, I'm sure I can have them arrested or make a deal with them." he said, his voice filled with a slight excitement that sounded really creepy from his low voice.

This raised not only Lila's interest but her parents' too. They gave each other a glance before voicing their words.

"And what would that be, Singore Beaumont?" Mrs Rossi asked.

A deadly smirk came on his face that Lila swore was stretching way too far over his face, she was sure his muscles would be in pain with the lengths it was going at.

"The deal I will offer is that they continue their activities, on the condition they reveal their identities to me and to the law, and work accordingly to our standards. They get put under our control, they get used when they can, and we can limit their time, and keep people like your daughter safe." he said with certainty and gladness in his voice, envisioning the idea of it in his head.

That made Lila scowl at him through the door, not feeling Pollen tapping her shoulder.

"Lila, this should be enough. We need to leave to inform your friends of what we know." she whispered. But Lila didn't hear her. What she was hearing was appalling and sounded like she was baring her eyes to the birth of a regime of sorts. Then her dad spoke up, his voice level.

"You speak volumes of realism, Singore. The more control we have on them, the better we have in protecting our daughter and the citizens. Reduce their time as much as you can." he urged, getting a nod from the scarred man.

"Why I will. Our children are what's worth looking after, raising them in a safe environment is what's best needed." he replied in an agreeable tone, looking very glad with what he was getting.

Lila gritted her teeth and pocketed her phone, not turning off the record button as she stood up, getting Pollen nervous.

"My dear, don't make too much of a fool of yourself." she could only whisper as she flew into her pocket as Lila swung the door open, surprising her parents greatly at the sight of her, though only getting raised eyebrows from Brian in response. He then offered her a charming smile.

"Why I say, this must be the darling princess you speak of. Pleasure to meet you, Bella-ragazza." he greeted, stunning Lila slightly at how calmly he greeted her. This didn't stop her though as she looked at her parents with sharp eyes, her fists clenched as she spoke.

"I heard you all talking. How your going to use me for your political campaign." she said, trying to hold her anger down with a slight hiss.

Mrs Rossi stood up, trying to put an assuring hand out to her.

"Lila, we were going to talk to you. With what Ladybug did to you, we just wanted to help on a bigger scale, to shame her for what she did." she said, her voice soft and trying to reason with her daughter, who gave her a confused look.

"Shame her? Mama, me and her made up. She did save me from that freakish clown and Hawk Moth, and she said sorry. And since when did you ever talk to me about anything on what you do? I'm in the dark most of the time!" she pointed out, intensity going right through her veins.

"Lila, not here in front of Singore Beaumont. I will talk to you after he's left." Mr Rossi said, trying to calm his daughter from raising her voice. Brian, however, raised his hand, letting himself be known.

"Its okay, I'd like to hear from your daughter. I don't get to talk to many Akuma victims, this is a good time to do so." he said softly, sending a cold shiver through Lila at how sensible and kind he was being. She could tell he was putting something on, but she couldn't just put it out there in front of her parents.

She glanced at her parents, confused at the offer he was giving. Her mother softly patted her back and pointed at Brian.

"Tell him of how you felt, Lila. Tell him what you told us." she instructed, only for the teenage girl to shake her head.

"Why should I? Just so you can make me more of a political tool than I already was?" she bit at her mother.

"Dearest, you know full well it's not like that..." Mrs. Rossi protested.

"Oh don't give me that cliched saying! How many times have two-faced people in the world used that phrase to try and justify whatever crap they do in their lives?" Lila snapped in disgust, "I know perfectly well that that's EXACTLY what it's like! It doesn't take being the daughter of two-faced politicians to know one!"

"Now you see here young lady, this behaviour is completely unacceptable!" Mr. Rossi growled, "I'll not have you talking to us like that!"

"Oh so it's OK when YOU two say whatever bullshit comes out of your mouths but once somebody does it to you, it's suddenly wrong?" Lila scoffed, her tone sneering and mocking as if she was finding their attempts to rebuttal her amusing, "Maybe you two should come forward to the public about what massive hypocrites you are!"

"Lila..." Mrs. Rossi began.

"Shut it mother!" Lila retorted, "I don't give two damns what you or dad have to say! For once, you're gonna hear what **I **have to say!"

She then turned to Brian, who disturbingly enough didn't seem offended or annoyed at what Lila had been saying. If anything, he seemed almost intrigued as if the girl that was now speaking to him was some interesting lab experiment to figure out and study what made her tick.

"You want to hear from an akuma victim? Well get ready for an earful." Lila said coldly, "I got akumatized, yes, but if anything, it was actually MY fault that it happened, NOT Ladybug's! Why? Because I lied about her in front of Adrien Agreste by pretending me and her were best friends to impress him. Thanks to the kind of people I've been brought up by," she glared venomously at her parents, "I felt the need to lie all the time just so I could make friends and feel something of worth. Instead, my lying was a self-destructive path I put myself on and I deserved to be brought down a peg. So if anything, Ladybug was right to expose me and I was wrong for getting angry at her about it. I should've realized what I did was wrong instead of doing what my parents do and blame everything on everybody else! Ladybug opened my eyes more than anything and has inspired me to change my ways and be a better person! Now tell me, does THAT sound like somebody who should be policed and treated like a criminal?"

There was a long silence that followed this speech. Too long for Lila's liking. Every second that ticked by just made the situation seem more tense than it was, even if nobody was speaking. Brian had remained still and blank-faced throughout Lila's rant, not moving so much as a muscle. Even his eyes seemed to have frozen in place. Then suddenly, he burst out into laughter. That surprised the Rossi family. They hadn't expected a response like that from the mayoral candidate.

"Zut alors, that was most entertaining!" he cackled, "I haven't seen such a display of blindness to reality in a long time! I knew Ladybug and Cat Noir were criminals operating outside of the law, I had no idea that they were so good at manipulation! How they've convinced this girl so thoroughly that they're inspirational on how to be a good person is incredible!"

Lila could feel her face going red with anger. She was so furious that it was amazing that she didn't punch this man right there in the jaw. Instead, she just put her hands behind her back and pouted, slipping one hand into her trouser pocket to stop her phone recording. There would be nothing else to record now. Brian turned to the Rossis, his tone sneering and condescending as if he was talking to a pair of badly behaved kids rather than a pair of adults.

"I think you should look after your daughter better my friends. It's clear that she's not right in the head. She has no idea what she's saying." he jeered, "It's quite clear she may have mental problems you've overlooked. You should get her to see a doctor I think."

"Yes Mr. Beaumont, we'll deal with her." Mr. Rossi said, clearly embarrassed about his daughter's behaviour.

"Oh we sure will..." Mrs. Rossi said coldly, "Lila, you march yourself upstairs and don't come out of your room until I say so! You're grounded for a year young lady!"

Lila saw no reason to stick around. Whatever she said now would only be spun in a way that would somehow make Ladybug and Cat Noir look even worse. She was even beginning to regret giving out that rant earlier as she may have unintentionally given her parents some fuel for their fire. At least she could do something about it without them knowing. To keep up the pretence, Lila stormed off to her room, deliberately acting as angry as possible, even slamming the door as hard as she could. Some of that anger hadn't been exaggerated, she still was angry at what delusional twits her parents were and how Brian had somehow interpreted her telling the truth as her being demented. How she wished she could sting them all as Queen B and paralyze them now! But she restrained herself. Lila knew that she had to be smarter than this and not give her parents more to work with in their slandering of superheroes. Instead, she opened the window and looked down at Pollen.

"OK, I may have made a fool of myself down there, but I can make up for that." she said with a smile, "How I'd LOVE to see their faces if they saw me with Ladybug and Cat Noir as a superhero myself!"

"I won't lie...even I kinda want to see that." Pollen giggled.

"In the meantime, we've gotta give this to our friends." Lila declared, "Pollen, Buzz On!"

In a matter of seconds, she had become Queen B for the second time since she'd received her new Kwami companion. With no hesitation, the new heroine leapt out of the window and swung away into the city with her spinning top weapon. As if her parents could ground her when she now had powers of her own! Maybe when this was over, she'd drop by and give them a nasty surprise to teach them a lesson. For now, she had to find Ladybug and Cat Noir. They had to hear what she had recorded...

* * *

Under the Sein bridge, M'gann had put up another illusion again to maintain the normality of the day. She was watching on with Conner from above, though this time they were joined by Tim, who was in ordinary clothes just like they were.

"Decided to see them in action yourself?" Conner asked as Tim came to their side, looking down at the gathered group of heroes underneath them. He responded with a nod and a smile, his eyes full of interest.

"You bet I am. Gotta see what they'll be giving the Light." he confirmed, happy to join his friends in watching this, yet M'gann looked nervous.

"They aren't all here. Lila isn't here." she pointed out, worried if she bailed. Her boyfriend, though, smiled as his ears picked up loud leaping in the distance, picking up the newcomer.

"She is now." he assured as a blur of yellow and black jumped over them, coming to her place of training at last. M'gann smiled, releasing her tense nerves.

"That's nice. Let's see what they can do." she said, leaning forward to see what they were doing.

Queen B landed with a grunt as she reached the bridge, breathing steadily as she stood herself up. Everyone turned to her, with Ladybug smiling.

"We were worried you wouldn't show up, you were about five minutes late." she said gladly, only to get a sigh from the Italian girl as she approached her.

"Sorry, had a rough morning. One that'll have your interest." she responded sharply, getting a stunned look from Ladybug.

"Really? What do you mean?" She asked, interested in what her new ally had to say. Queen B pulled out her spinning top and slid it open, her screen displaying a voice line with a pause button.

"I had a visitor in my home this morning. Someone who really is our enemy." she stated as everyone gathered around her, eager to listen to what she had to say.

The three Young Justice heroes picked this up, so they listened in closely too.

Queen B played the recording to them, the whole thing lasting about ten minutes, with complete intensity as they listened to the conversation between Lila's parents and Brian Beaumont. By the time it finished, Chat's eyes were turned to a narrow scowl while Carapace was frowning in confusion. Ladybug looked frustrated while Rena Rouge could only whistle in slight shock.

"Typical politicians, always thinking they know what's best for themselves in their kids. Still, you did good work on this, girl, just as good as me." Rena complimented, getting a beam from Queen B.

"Thanks for that, Alya. Just can't believe I actually did it. Still, listening to that just made me realise how delusional my parents can be. Just as you said, politicians." she responded, sounding bitter in her voice as she finished her words.

"That Brian Beaumont sounds like an utter psychopath! The way how he laughed reminded me of Joker, only he was more colder about his words!" Chat yelled, disgusted at what he just heard.

"Dude seriously has issues. Wonder how he still has a job?" Carapace wondered loudly, not sure what kind of politician there was out there that sounded so out of his mind. Ladybug just gritted her teeth, staring at the spinning top with deep hatred.

"Ugh...you can say that again! He really thinks he can get us to reveal our identities to him and work with him? He has no idea about the flaws in that!" she yelled.

"Yeah. Anyone could leak your identities to the public and put you in danger. Just because you're working with the law doesn't mean there isn't anyone in there that won't stoop so low. At least you have a argument you can make against him." Rena Rouge pointed out to her, patting the spotty heroine's back to give her some comfort and ease her frustrations.

"That and we can back you guys up against his "your manipulators" claims. In fact, we'll get all our friends to step in and sort this." Bunnyx added, sounding determined to put this man out of the running for mayor.

"We can do that ourselves. He's made it personal." Ladybug coldly responded, imagining the lies Brian will spread, the threats being made towards her family if she revealed her identity to Brian. Even worse for her boyfriend, the threats he'd get would be horrible.

"He won't know what hit him, especially with my powers. Gonna rat him out as the liar that he is." Bunnyx replied, already imagining her newly discovered powers being used on him, something she hadn't yet shared with her friends. Chat Noir sighed but then smiled at Queen B, pleased with her.

"We will, especially with this. Thanks, Lila. This is great. We'll pass it on at the end of today." he said brightly, only to get a raised eyebrow from Carapace.

"Passing it on? You mean you're working with someone?" he asked the feline hero, who realised what he just said, so he offered a nervous chuckle.

"Heh, yeah. Well, you'll see after today's training. We promised." he said, his voice with kind a kind reminding tone in it.

Ladybug nodded with her boyfriend, releasing the tension in her muscles.

"Yeah. Once we've done today, you'll learn a lot more. Now, you all learnt your powers yesterday. Today is where we combine them with basic combat training. Now, me and Chat will be your enemies for today's training. Remember what we said, use your powers wisely, once you use them, that's it, you have to find cover to recharge, which can take up time." she instructed, her voice going softer as her mind went from Brian to her friends.

This surprised the heroes a little. They hadn't expected to move onto combat training so soon after they'd just become superheroes for the first time and discovered what their abilities were. They'd expected some more training with their abilities at the least and that combat training would come a little later.

"So we're moving onto combat training already?" Rena Rouge asked, puzzled.

"Don't you think that's a bit sudden guys?" Bunnyx asked, "I mean, we only just started figuring our abilities out. We really should practice more of that before we start throwing punches."

"If we're gonna be facing the Light, we have to be prepared as soon as possible." Ladybug said bluntly, "We can't afford to be too slow about this training. The sooner you all learn how to fight, the better."

"Besides, this training will also help you get more adjusted to your abilities so think of it as learning how to fight AND perfect your powers all in one session!" Cat Noir said enthusiastically.

That just sounded like a lot of baggage for a training session. Having to learn how to fight while perfecting your abilities wouldn't be easy and the new heroes knew this. But they would give it a go. They'd signed up for this and they had to follow it through to the end, come what may.

"Well if that's what we're doing today, I'm up for it!" Carapace cried excitedly, "Let's get this show on the road!"

"Since you're so eager Carapace, why don't you go first?" Cat Noir said brightly, raising his staff and adopting a combat stance.

"I'll train with Rena and Bunnyx while you have Carapace and Queen B." Ladybug declared, drawing out her yo-yo, "I can't wait to see how this match goes for both of us!"

Ladybug, Rena and Bunnyx stood on one side of the area while Cat Noir, Carapace and Queen B stood in another part so the six combatants all had room for their battles. Ladybug spun her yo-yo around in front of her like some kind of shield while Rena and Bunnyx surrounded her, already thinking about the best way to close in on her and bring her down. The two newbies knew that Ladybug was experienced and very much the one in control in this match so they had to fight smart if they were going to win. Ladybug herself was just as cautious with her new teammates. They maybe learning, but their powers would be problematic for her. Time travel and illusions would keep her well on her toes. Training these two to fight was going to be a most interesting experience indeed.

"When you're ready girls, we can begin!" Ladybug declared.

"It's pouncing time, Girl!" Rena declared as she then leapt forward with her flute outstretched in a swiping attack like a sword.

Ladybug pulled back and grabbed the flute with her free hand, twisting it behind Rena's back and twirling herself around her, making the Vixen girl cry out in shock at what the spotty heroine was doing. Bunnyx made her move, pulling out her umbrella and clutched it from the point, outstretching its handle to catch Ladybug by her feet, only for the blue haired girl to spin on Rena's shoulder and swing her yo-yo out at Bunnyx, catching her umbrella and yanking it out of her hands and throwing it aside, making her gasp as Ladybug leapt off Rena and use her yo-yo to ensnare her legs, giving her a pull that sent the Fox girl right on her back in a stunned state. Ladybug flinched upon seeing the pained look on Rena, feeling bad for causing that to her best friend. But she had to keep hard about it, so she untangled the yo-yo and pulled it towards her.

"Gotta try harder, Rena." she instructed with a sharp tone, only for Bunnyx to smirk.

"Oh, we're gonna get hard, Ladybug: PORTAL JUMP!" she then yelled, outstretching her hand and swiftly creating a circle from her fingers that let off a blue glow that fully enveloped her when she jumped in.

Ladybug's eyes narrowed and swung a full one hundred and eighty to see where Bunnyx would come. Instead, though, a light came from behind her and she felt a swift kick to the back that sent her rolling onto her side, her eyes widening as she saw Bunnyx leap over her and pick her umbrella up. Rena was stunned but then grinned, seeing that her partner in this had already figured an advantage.

Bunnyx smirked as she pointed at herself.

"Me and Fluff had a talk last night, told me a bit more powers I could use." she cheekily stated, clearly enjoying the blow she landed on Ladybug, who stood up, looking impressed.

"You clearly did some more training at home. That's good, using something new on your opponent who doesn't know your whole capabilities." she congratulated, only to catch Rena's shadow moving towards her.

Smirking, Ladybug sidestepped and rolled around Rena's striking attack, following up with a counter kick that knocked the girl into the rabbit styled one, sending them both into a heap. Ladybug rested her hands on her hips as she saw the two girls grunting from the pile they found themselves in.

"But your enemies will have trained eyes and looking out for obvious tactics you'll use against them. Sometimes you have to think of a different form of attack." she told them.

Rena Rouge gritted her teeth, not liking how this was going now. She needed to land a hit without using her powers so early, but two strikes in and she was getting nowhere. She really needed to learn from Nora more.

As that group continued their match, with Chat Noir, he pulled out his staff and aimed it at Carapace and Queen B, who looked nervous at how more of a tougher stance he was taking in.

"M'Lady is being defensive, but I'll be the one attacking. Your enemies will always try to kill you, that's why you need to learn the best form of defence. Try and defend yourselves without your powers unless you really need them for it." he instructed, his voice serious about what he was telling them.

Carapace nodded, sliding his shield out while Queen B rested her fingers above her spinning top, resisting the urge of using a Venom to end the fight quickly. But she had something of past work she could use here.

"Bring it, dude!" Carapace yelled as he crouched, his shield out in front of him, ready for what his feline ally would give him.

In response, the blonde teen suddenly leapt forward like a tiger and struck his staff in between the gap of himself and Carapace, who gasped as Chat leapt over him and landed behind Queen B, who ducked in time to avoid a kick to her head. She quickly responded with a fist aimed at his stomach, only for him to catch it with his other hand and kicked her in the shin, making her yelp as she landed on her stomach. Carapace saw Chat begin to slam his staff down onto Queen B's head, so he blocked it with his shield and used his strength to shove the feline hero back, raising his shield out as he used his other hand to help the Italian girl up, who grunted.

"He knows how to throw a kick. Guess those muscles we see pressing against his leather aren't fake." she moaned, only for Carapace to get knocked into her when Chat struck his staff against his shield with enough power to knock him off his feet.

He then brought his staff down towards the face of the Turtle hero, only for him to block it with his arm. He then swiped his hand underneath it and grabbed it, pulling Chat forward and throwing him over, only for the feline hero to land on his feet with ease. He rested his staff on his shoulder and gave the two a grin.

"Not bad, doing better than the two girls over there." he congratulated, not seeing the glare Rena threw at him.

"I've seen enough ninja movies to see where the attacks are coming and how to block them. Being a nerd comes in handy." Carapace said gladly, only for Queen B to giggle.

"Oh he's not seen anything from me, yet. I have a few skills." she winked as she curled her hands into fists, "Bring it, leatherboy!" she urged, ready to continue.

Carapace whistled as he shared a look with Chat.

"Heh, girls sure are competitive" he pointed out as Chat then stretched his claws out on one hand, looking sharp.

"Remember, your opponents will get nasty and use all kinds of attacks on you. Be ready." he told them as he then darted at them in top speed, sending his claws out to begin a vicious clawing attack.

Over with the girls, Rena just managed to block a few kicks from Ladybug but found herself getting pushed towards the river. She couldn't risk falling into the water otherwise she'd attract the attention of the public. She needed a distraction...which came when Bunnyx shot her umbrella forward and caught the incoming tangle from the yo-yo, which she pulled towards her and swiftly sent her elbow into Ladybug's jaw, sending her stumbling back in shock at the blow the girl landed on her. Rena grinned and saw this as a chance, sending out her flute out to trip up the spotty heroine, sending her falling into her back. Ladybug rubbed her chin, giving Bunnyx a pained look.

"Powers or not, you know how to hit your opponents. Good surprise attack from Rena too...but it's not enough." she said seriously as she then swung her yo-yo around at a great speed in a circle that sent the two girls back in shock, seeing the light of the yo-yo tear around as Ladybug stood up.

She threw out her yo-yo towards Bunnyx, only for Rena to leap at her with an incoming strike from her flute, but Ladybug got up her forearm and blocked it, recalling her yo-yo and spun around Rena, taking her arms behind her back and tying them up, before throwing her towards Bunnyx, who caught her with a stumble. The rabbit styled heroine offered her a meek smile, only to get an eye roll out of her as Ladybug recalled her yo-yo.

"She's tougher than I thought. We need to beat her if we're to prove we can take on this Vandal Guy" she whispered to Bunnyx, who put her back on her feet. She gave her a smirk.

"Like I said, Ladybug doesn't know what Fluff told me last night. You have illusions, I have time travel abilities. I know how to make a good combo out of that." she assured her friend, who looked interested.

"Make it quick, I wanna win this big time." she whispered as Ladybug watched on, interested in what the girls were planning.

"Making a decision in battle...might have a good outcome if so." she said to herself as she the girls then stood up, looking very determined in what they were about to do. Ladybug spun her yo-yo in a defensive way, ready for whatever punches or kicks they would give her.

Bunnyx then stepped forward and sent out her fingers, drawing an S and T in the air.

"SPEED TIME!" she yelled as she tore her fingers down to the ground.

In a split second, she was nothing s blur of white and blue. Ladybug gasped as she suddenly felt a punch to her stomach, a swipe on her leg that took her down to one knee, and then a swift kick to the back, sending her crashing into her side. Wincing in pain, Ladybug caught sight of Bunnyx as she ran back to Rena, clearly having just taken her down with super speed. She then did a drawing another rune behind the two.

"PORTAL JUMP!" she yelled, jumping into it with Rena.

Grunting as she stood up, Ladybug stayed where she was until she heard the slight hissing of the portal reopening, with Bunnyx and Rena coming back out of it, smiling cheekily. Once the light faded, Ladybug drawn up her yo-yo and looked at them both.

"Standing around like that doesn't mean you've won, your opponent will still take you down!" she warned as she then tangled the two up in her yo-yo, pulling them towards her. But once they were close, Ladybug noticed their expressions hadn't changed, leaving her confused.

"What? Why are you still smiling?" she asked with a frown. But it dawned on her too late as another light came over her, seeing the two in front of her fade in a puff of orange smoke.

Suddenly, Rena's flute clubbed her on the back of the head and sent her back to her knees, allowing Rena to grab Ladybug's arms and pull them behind her back, locking them with her flute, while Bunnyx did the same to her legs with her umbrella, smiling at what they just did.

"Ha, ha! We totally got you!" Rena crowed, "I'd have thought fighting Volpina would've warned you to be careful of illusions!"

"I'd say we're learning pretty fast, wouldn't you?" Bunnyx smirked, "Already we're combining our abilities and using them to our advantage!"

Ladybug could only give a begrudging smirk in response. As much as she hated to admit it, the two won this battle fair and square and had managed to get on top of her by being fast, smart and creative with their powers, just as she wanted. They were already proving themselves ready to be superheroes.

"Great work girls." Ladybug praised, "I knew I wasn't mistaken when I decided to give you two these Miraculouses. You're putting them to great use. Now can you please let me up?"

"Oh I'm not sure about that." Rena sneered, "You might try and attack us if we do."

"You can stay down until Cat Noir's finished with Carapace and Queen B." Bunnyx jeered, "Although I don't think that fight will last much longer."

The three heroines watched on to see how the other three Miraculers were doing. Carapace was holding his shield up to block blows from Cat Noir's staff as he repeatedly swung it down onto him. The heavy clanging sound that rung from his shield with every hit sounded like a fist of steel trying to smash through a steel wall and Carapace could feel the shield vibrate against his arm with every thwack of the staff. He knew Cat Noir was strong from when he'd fought him as Bubbler but even now, he was finding himself still amazed by how hard he could hit. Rena frowned and called out to her boyfriend.

"Hey Carapace, stop hiding behind your shield and clobber him already!" she yelled.

"I'm going to babe, don't..."

Carapace grunted as Cat Noir suddenly pivoted on the heels of his feet and swept his legs out from underneath him with a single strike to the legs with his staff. Carapace landed on his back but his quick reflexes allowed him to quickly recover by rolling over backwards and springing up onto all fours. He stood up quickly and raised his shield again.

"VERY important rule of combat: DON'T get distracted!" Cat Noir cried, leaping into the air and dropkicking Carapace in the shield as he defended himself, "If you get distracted even for a minute, you could get killed!"

"Yeah Rena, your boyfriend could've died out there!" Bunnyx mocked, "So keep your trap shut and let your boyfriend fight how he wants!"

Rena scowled but said nothing. She cringed at the thought that she could've potentially gotten her love killed if this had been a real fight. She didn't dare distract Carapace again and watched on in silence. Queen B jumped through the air and landed behind Cat Noir just as he and Carapace locked weapons and pushed against each other. Seizing her moment, she thrust her hand forward and struck Cat Noir in the back. The leather-clad hero winced, briefly but enough. In battle, even a second of flinching in pain was enough to give the enemy an advantage. Carapace struck out by slamming his shield into his mentor's stomach. Cat Noir stumbled backwards and Queen B drove her elbow into his back as he hurled towards her. Cat Noir grunted and stumbled over onto the ground. He was in pain but this was nothing to him. After facing gods like Grail and Darkseid, any normal pain he received just seemed pathetic in comparison and barely effected him anymore. He was back on his feet faster than he could say "Cataclysm!" and thrust his staff forwards. Queen B wasn't fazed as she thought that he wasn't close enough to hit her. But then she was reminded of what else Cat Noir could do as the staff suddenly extended a few extra inches and butted her in the stomach. The blow was like a punch from someone wearing a metal glove to her and she came down heavily onto her back. She grunted in pain, trying her best to ignore it as she picked herself up. Cat Noir then pounced towards her with his claws bared. As soon as he landed and prepared to strike, Queen B decided to try out one of her tactics that would make use of her past life as a perpetual liar.

"Look out, one of Batman's enemies is behind you!" she exclaimed.

Cat Noir just smirked coolly.

"Now Queen B, do you really think that I'm gonna fall for such an obvious lie?" he crowed, "I thought you were past that phase now."

"It was worth a shot." Queen B shrugged, "Besides, you didn't fall for it but it still had its intended effect...which was distracting you!"

Too late Cat Noir released he'd been tricked. True he hadn't fallen for the lie but he'd still let himself get distracted by gloating to Queen B about not falling for it. Just moments ago, he'd lectured Carapace about being distracted and now it'd happened to him! He cried out as Carapace charged into him like a mad rhino, butting him aside with his shield and sending him sprawling across the floor. He groaned as he tried to regain his bearings but he didn't get a chance to stand up as Queen B activated her stinger and paralyzed him, leaving him stuck on the ground and unable to move. The fight was over. His trainees had beaten him. Carapace and Queen B stood over their defeated trainer, high-fiving each other with glee.

"Cool trick there Queenie!" Carapace complimented, "You managed to distract him even if he didn't believe your lie!"

"Just shows that you can distract people in more ways than one." Queen B said proudly, "You were really cool out there too turtle boy. You didn't even need to use your power to defeat him."

Rena and Bunnyx couldn't help but laugh over Cat Noir's defeat.

"And here he was warning THEM about being caught off-guard!" Bunnyx giggled.

"They really did well." Ladybug agreed, "Having felt Queen B's Venom yesterday, I feel sorry for Cat Noir. I hope he's OK."

Queen B smiled and gave her a wave.

"You walked it off after I did it to you, I think he can do so too" she said calmly as Ladybug approached her boyfriend, who could only move his eyes, looking over him with concern.

"You sure you're okay?" she asked worriedly, not listening to Queen B's words, leaving the others stunned at how seriously she was taking this. All Chat Noir gave her was a smile, his voice faint.

"Yeah...had worse on Apokalips. This is nothing...thanks though." he said, his voice getting light as his girlfriend smiled, relieved to see he was taking it well. She gave him a kiss and hummed, her heart warmed to see he was not angry or upset at the pain.

"I'm glad. When it leaves your system, you'll feel new again. We'll swap though." she whispered, giving Queen B a little glance for she had her own plans for her.

Crouching down, Rena Rouge offered a nervous smile.

"Uhhh...I take it by swapping, it's gonna get extra hard?" she asked, already wondering what Chat Noir would give her and Bunnyx when the swapping would start, fearing he was gonna get vicious following this. Ladybug smiled though, patting her arm.

"It's really helping you learn a new defensive skill we've used a lot. You'll run out of powers, so give Trixx a quick recharge for it." she informed as Rena's necklace began to bleep, making her gasp.

"Oh, Yeah! Need to keep that in mind!" she said to herself as she stood up and ran off to turn back to normal.

Queen B was the next one to approach, looking nervous as she looked over the two.

"Uh, you'll go easy on me, will ya? I did do a number on your boyfriend, but it was all part of training." she reminded. Chat Noir smiled though, feeling his nerves kick back in.

"Don't worry...she will." he said softly as he began to move his arms. Ladybug slid her hand into his.

"Yeah. But like I told Alya, you need to give Pollen a recharge." she instructed as her hair comb bleeped, alerting the Italian girl, who quickly ran off to feed her Kwami.

From where they were, the Young Justice members watched on with wide eyes and looks of utter impression on their faces, with Tim smiling the biggest.

"Now that is what I call fast learners. Those guys are clearly smart." he pointed out as he saw them begin to swap mentors. Conner nodded with a smirk, his eyes on Bunnyx as he watched on.

"Yeah. Something tells me Bart is gonna like that girl. She's a bit of a tomboy, suits his style." he stated, already imagining what the banter would be like between the two.

M'gann smile became fainter though, something she ended up voicing.

"While they are fast learners, I'm worried about the pressures they'll face from this Brian Beaumont. If any attack on him or Jean will happen this week, it'll be their first appearance in the public eye. No doubt they'll get criticised, and how they'll handle that will test them as much as this is." she voiced, getting a concerned look from her boyfriend.

"That's a point. I struggled too, trying to not let anyone get to me by calling me a weaker version of Clark. It was hard seeing it all in the papers and online." he admitted, seeing where she was coming from.

"At least Clark wasn't having it, and I'm sure you'll do the same with these guys. That kind of understanding is what they'll need." Tim reminded him as his eyes gleamed with a deep idea coming over his head.

"And hey, politicians hate being criticised too. Something I've got planned for Brian" he said as they continued to watch on.

Helping her boyfriend up, Ladybug smoothed his stomach.

"Try and take it easy." she whispered to him, only for him to smile at her.

"Like I said, this isn't Apokalips, I can deal with what comes next." he gently told his girlfriend, who returned the smile, seeing he was still up for it.

"Okay then, given you're so sure. When this is done, we'll introduce them to our new friends." she reminded him, looking to those eyeing them. Chat nodded, gently pulling away as he looked to Rena and Bunnyx, while Ladybug went to Queen B and Carapace.

"Okay, the last piece of training is the swinging shield. You can see I do so with my yo-yo. Lila, you can do the same with your spinning top. Nino, it's a bit different with you since you carry a shield, but it'll have its own version of it." Ladybug informed the two, leaving Carapace looking pleased, glancing to his shield.

"Knew this had more to it! Can't wait to use it!" he said as Queen B pulled out her spinning top, looking easy about it.

"I just have to swing it around in a circle, don't I?" she asked, only for her mentor to shrug sheepishly.

"Not really. It does require a bit more focus that that. I'll show you." she informed as she readied her yo-yo.

"For me in creating my own shield, it's a bit difficult since I have to use both of my hands and use my fingers carefully if I'm to spin my staff in one hand. It'll be a similar case with you two. Firstly, hold out your flute and umbrella in front of you both." Chat Noir informed Rena Rouge and Bunnyx, who did as they were told.

Chat did the same with his staff, keeping an eye on the two.

"Now, start with your right hand. Turning it fully around, then continue it with your left hand. Continue to do this until you want to get faster." he told them, his voice kind and careful with what he was saying, carrying out the action as slowly as he could.

Rena and Bunnyx watched as Cat Noir picked up speed and his staff twirled around his hands, becoming a silver blur circling around in front of him. He was spinning it so quickly that it was possible to believe his hands could turn a full 360 degrees. The vixen and rabbit heroines were impressed but watching Cat Noir in action just made them unsure of themselves. How could they possibly match such a skill? The only way they'd know is if they gave it a try. It would be useful in battle to form their own shields to block opponents like their mentors did.

Breathing in slowly, Rena held her hands out and slowly began to twirl the flute around her fingers. Bunnyx followed her by spinning her umbrella around. They started slowly so as to get a good idea on the hand movement they needed to spin their weapons. Cat Noir watched, no longer spinning his own weapon so he could watch their progress. At first, the two girls were in sync with each other as they twirled their weapons, a kind of rhythm going on-between them. Then they began to pick up speed, gradually moving the weapons faster and faster around their hands. But they weren't able to keep it up for long before they lost grip and accidentally dropped the flute and umbrella. They landed with a clatter on the stone floor. Cat Noir shook his head grimly. He'd hoped they'd perfect the movement first time but no such luck. Not every move could be done on the first try after all.

"Oh darn it!" Rena muttered, bending down and picking her flute up, "I thought we had it going so well too!"

"We've just gotta keep trying." Bunnyx said bluntly, "If we keep practicing, we'll perfect the movement and be as good as Cat Noir with his staff twirling."

"Yeah, just look at it that way!" Cat Noir said brightly, trying to inject some optimism into the exercise, "You'll get it eventually! It doesn't matter if you don't get it first time."

Rena nodded agreeably and she and Bunnyx went at it again. They twirled their weapons around, once again starting off slow and picking up speed. Once they perfected this move, they'd be able to spin their weapons at high speed straight away. They went up to the speed they had gotten to the first time and kept at it to see if they could maintain this speed before going any quicker. Unfortunately, they ended up dropping their weapons again, causing Rena to groan in annoyance.

"Don't worry about it. Just try again." Cat Noir said gently.

Rena groaned at him.

"Easier said than done, Chat." she said bluntly as she began to do it again more slowly, with Bunnyx following. He could only smile at the two girls as they continued, this time seeing their eyes were focussing on their hands to continue their twirling, making sure they were getting it right. He decided not to say anything so they could figure it out themselves.

Over with Ladybug, she loosened the string on her yo-yo and let it hang by her side as she looked at Queen B.

"Now, sometimes you have to keep your spinning top at a good length, not too long for it could get caught, but not too close to you to the point you hit yourself with it. You spin it a bit more carefully before letting it loose." she instructed Queen B, who glanced at her spinning top before stretching its length a bit.

"Okay...hope this isn't too far out." she said to herself as she raised her arm forward. Carapace stood back to avoid getting hit, knowing things were gonna get colourful.

"Follow my movements." Ladybug told the bee like superhero as she spun her yo-yo at a slower pace, creating a spinning circle light of red that wasn't as blurry as it usually was.

Queen B started to follow on, though she wasn't getting it at a good enough speed that it just swung out randomly, making her grit her teeth.

"Oh c'mon!" she yelled as it whacked against the floor, already not off to a decent start. Ladybug offered her a smile.

"Raise your arm a little higher, keep a tight grip on the string, and spin it at a good speed." she told her.

Sighing out of worry, Queen B followed on, raising her arm a little higher over her head and began spinning. She picked up the speed this time to avoid getting whacked on the head by the top, and already she was seeing a yellow streak beginning to build from it. Ladybug grinned, seeing how this was paying off.

"That's it, you're doing it! Now, go a little faster!" she told the Italian girl, who gritted her teeth as she spun it faster. The yellow light began to build and fill the circle it was creating. This created a slight wind on Queen B, who let out a pleased giggle, seeing how far she was getting.

"Now lower it, but keep up the speed!" Ladybug called, lowering her arm as a guide.

Queen B followed and slightly stumbled as the spinning pulled her slightly, but she did it carefully and saw her spinning shield had fully come to life. She grinned and felt her heart flutter, feeling she actually did something else as a great achievement. Ladybug laughed with her, pleased to see how well this was going for her. She really did bring out a better change in the Italian girl, who followed with her stopping her spinning, giving their arms a rest after seeing how well she did. Ladybug gave her a big rub on the arm, smiling.

"You did it! That was great concentration you showed there, Lila!" she congratulated, making the yellow clad girl give her a grin.

"Hey, I learnt from the best since I got here. Same goes to Marinette." she said pleasantly, not catching the slight shock on Ladybug's face.

Carapace stepped over and put his shield forward to Ladybug, looking eager to go on.

"Okay, my turn now! Care to show me how this bad boy works?" he asked, giving his shield a tap. Ladybug placed her hand on the top of the shield.

"Put your hand there and pull it either side as hard as you can. You'll see what happens." she said, standing back to let Carapace do his work. The Turtle styled hero did as he was told, putting his shield arm out while resting his hand on the top.

"Here we go!" he yelled as he pulled his hand to the left, making the shield spin fast and letting off a green streak of light, making him grin.

"Oh now this is so cool!" he yelled happily as he saw it continue to spin, getting a glad smile from Ladybug.

"It sure is! You two got it easy, though. Wonder how Chat is doing with the other two?" she said as she turned to see what her boyfriend was doing with the other two girls.

Much to her delight, she could see that Rena and Bunnyx were finally getting the hang of it. She watched as their weapons became circles of orange and blue wheeling around their hands as they copied Cat Noir's staff twirls. They were going pretty fast and now they thought they'd gotten the hang of it, they started to spin faster. Amazingly enough, they didn't drop their weapons as they picked up speed.

Much to her delight, she could see that Rena and Bunnyx were finally getting the hang of it. She watched as their weapons became circles of orange and blue wheeling around their hands as they copied Cat Noir's staff twirls. They were going pretty fast and now they thought they'd gotten the hang of it, they started to spin faster. Amazingly enough, they didn't drop their weapons as they picked up speed. It seemed they'd managed to master their hold on the weapons and were now able to spin them effortlessly without them slipping out their fingers or dropping them. It was incredible that it only a couple of botched attempts, they were now getting the hang of it and had made a shield of their own. Cat Noir was equally as impressed, giving the girls a round of applause.

"Way to go girls! I knew you'd get it eventually!" he cried happily.

"Whoa, is this awesome or what?!" Bunnyx exclaimed, "I feel like I could take off if I spin this thing any quicker!"

"Funny you should say that as I'm actually capable of limited flight capabilities with my staff." Cat Noir said with a wink, "You two should try that some day."

"I dunno, I think Bunnyx could fly just with that umbrella as a whole. She won't need to spin it." Rena said with a chuckle.

"Who do you think I am? Mary Poppins?" Bunnyx retorted.

Ladybug, Carapace and Queen B ran over to the others and clapped with admiration for Rena and Bunnyx.

"Well done you two!" Ladybug praised, "And well done to you as well kitty for being a good teacher." she added, winking.

"I bet your lesson went just as well." Cat Noir shot back with a complimentary grin.

"You win that bet." Ladybug giggled, "Carapace and Queen B were amazing. We not only picked some great candidates to wield the Miraculouses, we picked some fast learners while we were at it! They'll be at our level before we know it!"

"I'm ready to do some beatings ASAP! Dude, I feel like I can take down an army of clowns at this rate!" Carapace yelled happily, beating his hands to the air, feeling more energised from the successes thy made. Chat Noir chuckled, rubbing his arm.

"I bet you can do it, pal. With how you took me down, I'd say you could take down some tougher goons!" he told him with enthusiasm, glad to see his best friend was more into the challenge of being a superhero.

"About that; if these guys called the Light are gonna be making their move the following week, how are we gonna counter them?" Rena then asked Ladybug, remembering how soon their actual fights would come. Ladybug's face dropped slightly, knowing that the safety of training was over and now it was time to give everyone more hard facts about the coming week. But she also knew this would give them something to get cheerful about.

"Well, that's the thing: we don't know how to properly counter them, but like we told you yesterday, we're giving you a treat, the people who are helping us are in town right now...and have been watching us the whole time." she informed, making the new heroes freeze in their places.

"What, Wait, you mean...more superheroes are here!? Girl, you two make friends fast!" Rena Rouge exclaimed, her eyes running everywhere.

"Well, where are they? I can't see anyone." Queen B pointed out, getting a giggle from Ladybug.

"It's thanks to them we've been under an illusion to stop anyone from outside seeing us, and in return, we can't see anyone outside. That's why it seems so quiet." she told them, making them even more quiet in shock. Chat Noir smiled as he walked towards the steps.

"They can keep it up when they come down, the girl they've got doing it is a master at it. Don't get too shocked when you see her though." he told them sternly as he waved his hand up at the three heroes.

"C'mon down! Training's done, time to make more friends!" he called with a grin.

What followed left the new Miraculous heroes in stunned silence as the three Young Justice members stepped down the stairs out of thin air, greeting them all with a smile, M'gann keeping hold of hers as she turned back to her green skinned look. At first there was just silence as they were approached by them, even as Ladybug and Chat Noir stood with them, then Carapace pointed his fingers at her.

"Oh my goodness gracious, an alien! A good one too!" he said in shock.

"I know, I'm very much an exception when it comes to the "evil invading alien" stereotype." M'gann said meekly, rubbing the back of her hair.

"And is it just me, or does the hunk in the black shirt look EXACTLY like Superman?" Rena asked curiously, glancing over at Conner.

"Might explain why he's SOOOOOOOOO handsome!" Bunnyx exclaimed, her eyes becoming hearts at the sight of the Kryptonian/human hybrid.

"Yeah, he has Superman's good looks and everything..." Queen B agreed, sharing Bunnyx's joy over the sight of a handsome hero.

"Sorry girls, I'm taken by M'gann here." Conner said hastily, "Though I appreciate the comments anyway."

Everyone could swear that they saw a brief flicker of disappointment on the rabbit and bee heroine's faces. But it was only brief and they didn't seem resentful over that fact at least. Instead, they decided to move on to avoid things getting potentially awkward.

"Soooo...you're Ladybug and Cat Noir's new friends, right?" Bunnyx asked, "Who are you guys? And are there more of you are you three it?"

"This ain't the whole team, this is only half of it." Tim explained, "We're Young Justice, a team that's a bit above the Teen Titans but not quite the level of the Justice League. The name was given to us by the press and it kinda stuck afterwards. I'm the team leader, Tim Drake, and these two are M'gann Morzz and Conner Kent. As superheroes, we go by the codenames Robin, Miss Martian and Superboy respectively."

That seemed to set everyone off for the new Miraculers all squealed in unison as if this was the most incredible thing ever.

"No way, YOU'RE Robin? As in THE Robin?! Sidekick of Batman himself?!" Rena Rouge exclaimed, "OMG, this is an honour! Getting to meet Batman's protégée is so cool!"

"And you guys are a legit superhero team! That's totally radical dudes!" Carapace shrieked, "I've always wanted to meet a famous superhero team!"

"First Batman, then Wonder Woman and now Ladybug and Cat Noir befriend a superhero team!" cried Bunnyx, "You two, do you have like super deep connections to the superheroes of the world that you're not telling us about? I mean next thing you know, you're gonna tell us you're besties with Green Lantern or Superman!"

Ladybug and Cat Noir giggled sheepishly.

"We haven't met those two yet but I can't say I haven't pondered the possibility of us doing so..."Ladybug said with a meek smile.

"You've gotta tell us everything about yourselves!" Rena cried, the journalist side of her completely taking over all thoughts in her head, "What's it like working as a team? Is the alien girl actually from Mars? Why does Conner look exactly like Superman? Is he is twin or a close relative? Who else is in your team if this is only half?"

Tim just held up his hands hastily, overwhelmed by the barrage of questions the vixen heroine was giving him.

"Girl, chill for a minute. Slow down." he said quickly, "We'll have time for any questions to answer later. Now we have more important matters to address, namely the reason you're all recruited in the first place."

The mood turned sour very quickly for any excitement and enthusiasm for meeting new heroes was gone. It was no longer time to be friendly and sociable, it was time to be serious and business like and the new recruits understood very quickly.

"Yes, of course." Rena agreed, "Ladybug said you've teamed up with her and Cat Noir to tackle the Light, which lead to us being recruited to provide further aid. Are the Light like, your arch-enemies or something? Like The Joker to Batman and Lex Luthor to Superman?"

"Absolutely." Tim muttered, "We've been trying to take them down for years but the minds that organization has always manage to plan ahead and always get out of whatever corner we back them into. There are seven founding members of the Light with Vandal Savage as the main man in charge of the whole organization. The others are Black Manta, Queen Bee, The Brain, Lex Luthor, Ra's Al Ghul and Harvest."

He then pulled out a hi-tech device from his pocket and showed a holographic image of The Light's founding members to give the newbies an idea on what they looked like. They all stared intently at the images, committing their faces and appearances to memory. Never before had they seen such an unpleasant group of villainous scumbags with Harvest being the most repulsive looking one to them. If it was possible to hate somebody just from seeing a picture of them alone, then the Light was proof of that possibility. They hadn't even met them in person and already the new recruits felt like they were enemies for life.

"That Harvest guy looks like he came up from the underworld. Bet he stinks." Carapace remarked, getting a nod from Conner.

"I should know, I've been around the creep plenty of times." he said in a bitter tone, "And he does come from the underworld. His top power is stealing the souls of people and turning their bodies into weapons while he uses their spirits to give himself and his weapons more power. Make sure he doesn't hit you with his scythe." he added as M'Gann pointed at Queen B.

"She's very rotten. She has the power of persuasion, she simply talks to you and gives you an order, that's it, you do as she says. It's a matter of skill and power to stop yourself from carrying out what she says. She's a monster of every kind." she said, her eyes full of disgust towards her.

The Miraculers all shuddered at the information given to them about Queen Bee.

"The idea of being mind-controlled is way too close to Hawk Moth's shtick for my liking..." Rena said, cringing in disgust.

"I say it's worse than what Hawk Moth does because at least as an akuma, you don't obey his every command with a single word." Queen B muttered, "Even he grants more free will than this Queen Bee person as he pretty much lets you go about his task how you want. I don't wanna imagine what being mind-controlled like THAT feels like..."

"If we ever meet her, we have to make it a priority that we stay as far away as possible." Ladybug agreed, "If she drops so much as a suggestion, we could be weapons for her to use. She could even just command us to give our Miraculous to her if she wanted them!"

"You bet she could." M'gann said, scowling, "With the founding members of the Light, we do NOT want any of you trying to fight Queen Bee by yourself. If you see her, you let US handle her and don't try to fight her yourselves unless absolutely necessary. Is that alright with you?"

The Miraculers nodded. They were in no position to debate with the ones who knew the Light the best.

"Now onto the others." Tim said, pointing to Black Manta and Ra's Al Ghul, "Black Manta is the arch-enemy of the JL's very own Aquaman. He may look like a regular guy in a fancy costume but trust me, it's not as silly as it sounds. He's VERY dangerous and that helmet of his can fire lasers out of the eyes so don't get up close and personal on him." he warned, noticing the Miraculers flinch uncomfortably at that detail, "Ra's Al Ghul is a man me and Batman have dealt with many times before. He leads the League of Shadows, a group of assassins that follow his every command. Your powers will give you a way to even the odds, but you'll do well to avoid having to fight off his ninjas at all costs..."

"And I bet nobody's surprised to see Lex Luthor is part of this group." Conner muttered, pointing to his image, "Anyone with half a brain can clearly tell he's evil. You don't need to be Superman to see that."

"Too right." Cat Noir said grimly, "I hear even Gabriel Agreste couldn't stand him, and...well, you know who HE turned out to be." he added bitterly. The Miraculers gave him knowing glances, understanding perfectly what he meant.

"As for the Brain, as much as he looks like he came straight out of a comic book, he's nothing to laugh at." Tim continued, pointing to the Brain's image, "That life-support tank of his is armed to the teeth and he's very intelligent. He can best you physically and mentally if he has to. He also tends to be accompanied by his right-hand man, or rather gorilla in his case, named Monsieur Mallah. No, I'm serious on that last part." he insisted, noticing that Carapace was trying not to laugh and Rena was cracking a smile.

"A brain in a jar with a gorilla sidekick. NOW I've heard everything..." Bunnyx sighed, hardly able to take on how ludicrous this all sounded.

"And finally, there's Vandal himself." M'gann concluded, pointing to Vandal's image, "Ladybug, Cat Noir, you did tell them about him didn't you?"

The leaders of the newly formed superhero team nodded "Yeah, we did. They were a little freaked out to learn he's immortal, but they still want in on taking him downb" Ladybug told M'gann, who looked to the Miraculers.

"You really are up for this, right?" she asked them, getting a quick nod from Rena Rouge.

"Girl, you bet we are! We ain't letting some crazy immortal cave dweller try to control our country, and we aren't letting Ladybug and Chat Noir do all the hard work this time, we're all in!" she said sharply, having let it fully hit her what threats they were up against.

"If my parents and that Brian are silly enough to fall under these guys thumbs, more reason for me to step in! And I wouldn't mind proving who's the real queen between me and that mind raping woman!" Queen B stated gladly, already up for taking on Queen Bee.

"Like my girl said, bug girl and Chat have done enough. It's time we repaid them and give them all the help we can." Carapace added.

"I've been up for kicking some butt, especially if they keep coming to our city and hurting people I care about, so don't think for a second we're not up for this!" Bunnyx finished, standing proud in her stature that went well with her words.

Tim smiled, seeing these teens really had their hearts into this. He already had a feeling this team was going to make some changes in Paris, and he'd be glad to watch it.

"That's great! What you have to do now is wait for the election tours to start on Tuesday, and make sure you'll be at them! We'll guide you the best we can and help if you need us. A threat will be there all the time, so we'll tell you." he explained to them.

Carapace smiled and put his fist out.

"Right, let's put the T in Teamwork, dudes!" he declared, getting an odd look from Ladybug and Rena.

"Are you putting a spin on our "Pound It" declaration?" the former asked with a raised eyebrow. Carapace shrugged.

"Well, we're a team now, gotta come up with new phrases." he pointed out to them. Rena shrugged back but smiled.

"Fitting enough. Let's put the T in Teamwork, everyone!" she said, putting her fist out with her boyfriend's. Queen B put hers in too with Bunnyx following. Chat Noir then put his in and Ladybug saw everyone was all for it. Smiling, she finished the circle fist, though she stepped back and looked at the Young Justice members.

"Care to join in?"

Conner shrugged nonchalantly.

"Our team's always fist-bumping and whatever gestures you can do with your hands." he said casually, "What's another one for us?"

Tim, Conner and M'gann joined in with the circle of fists and they all bumped together in unison, signifying the alliance between the heroes of France and the heroes of America. This was just the start of what was going to be a wonderful alliance between young heroes and heroines with strong friendships that would form from this alliance. It wasn't all going to be fun and games, but Ladybug and Robin would feel much more comfortable knowing that their fight against the Light was going to be a unified battle. Whatever their scheme was, the Light wouldn't be prepared for this...

* * *

_**The training's coming along and now the alliance between the Miraculers and Young Justice is in full swing! Evil beware, the heroes of France and America are banding together! But will it be enough to stop The Light? We still don't know what their scheme is and how they plan to execute it! Join in next time as this crossover epic continues...**_


	8. Chapter 7: The Light's First Move

_Chapter 7: The Light's First Move_

It was a new day starting a new week, though for one group of people in hiding, nothing was new, their goal was still the same ever since they first arrived in Paris. Something that poor Kagami was getting use to despite her new gift keeping her occupied with time. She was thankful she wasn't training under Shiva for she could now train with her equally trained ninjas. Her sword was something she was pleased to have, for it gave her an advantage in fighting. She could only wonder how it would do against the heroes.

Standing on her own on the edge of the dark room, next to a large amount of water that was clearly designed for a sub to dock into, Kagami gripped her sword tightly as she held it over her head. She imagined her enemy in front of her, well armed and up for a fight, with their own sword to use. Kagami swung her blade down carefully, keeping it in good motion and not to lose herself in its swing. She then drove it forward to try and impale her enemy, who she pictured would block it, but thanks to her great counter skill she learned from Shiva, she knew a fast action would make her enemy lose focus for a second, something she knew she needed for her next move, for she imagined she then sliced her sword over her enemy's hands, cutting off their fingers and leaving them disarmed. The Japanese girl then took her feet up and threw one into a kick to the chest, already imagining whoever she was fighting on their back, defeated and winded. All that needed to come was the final blow, to put an end to her enemy. Unarmed didn't mean they weren't dangerous, as Shiva told her, so it was best they were killed instantly, to avoid any response...but while Kagami could picture herself standing over whoever it was, pointing her sword into his or her face, she could only imagine the fear she could see, not just on their face but in their eyes. The eyes were the windows to someone's soul. For they could tell you everything about who that person was. And there were eyes of someone she was already imagining right in front of her...would she be scared? Or ashamed? Or fearless? Would she even be her enemy?

While these questions ran through her head, she failed to pick up the footsteps behind her, for the towering form of Vandal Savage appeared behind her, his eyes watching on in interest with his face full of keenness towards her. He could see she was trying hard and treating her sword carefully, so it was enough to tell him she was making use of it and ready to put it to use in a fight. But he could see her reluctance in wanting to deliver the finishing blow, not just from her standing there in the same position, but her hand's slight trembling and her uneasy breathing. Vandal would've believed it was simply because she was a teenager and never took a life, but he could tell she was imagining someone in front of her. He decided to approach her, much differently from Shiva.

"Still finding it hard to picture a dead body by your hands?" he asked, his voice deep and chilling as if it was a knife that sliced through cold air.

Kagami gasped upon hearing him, turning to see the powerful immortal human standing in front of her, his voice not showing disappointment, but interest. She gave him a bow, giving him her respect, but Kagami wouldn't deny to herself she felt a chill of coldness come over her arms upon seeing him. She looked away slightly as she spoke.

"You say the bodies of our enemies house trapped souls that can be freed sooner from this world. But while I take your words to heart...I find it hard to picture I'm freeing someone of oppression and misery when they look so scared" she replied. Vandal hummed to himself, taking in what the girl said to him. It was worth talking about.

"You might find it hard to carry out now, given you are a teenager, but in time, after you take your first life, you'll come to understand, especially when you face those that you fight. But you aren't alone in your struggles, child." he said in a calm tone, getting a confused look from Kagami.

"Really? How would you know? You never came off as such a person." she pointed out. He couldn't help but smile, seeing where this was going. Walking beside her, he continued to talk.

"Yes, it's true. I went through a struggle similar to yours, even before I became the man who turned into. Before, I was just a survivor, killing others to get what I needed. But after I got my powers, I began to see just how weaker some people became and lived this foolish illusion of aiming to get a perfect goal. It didn't happen straight away, for I outlived everyone in my clan and I felt alone. I feared the deaths of others. But as civilisation grew, I saw how idiotic certain people became. I heard of their desires, to have a piece of perfection and have a fulfilment in life, to stand on the highest of civilisation. If they believed in such a desire, they hated the lives they lived. So I gave them their desire: freedom by my blades." he told her.

Kagami felt another chill come over her, hearing how normal and simple sounding Vandal was in his talks about how he handled killing others. It sounded disgusting to her, but she couldn't help but continue in interest.

"You mean to tell me I should just see these people as prisoners of sorts? In their own way and free them through death?" he asked, trying to get it right. He nodded, looking to the far side of the place.

"Yes, especially those who get in our way. Through death, they get their desire of living a great life, and they see what I fight for. Those who live, with my mission complete, can gladly enjoy what I can offer them, knowledge, wealth and power." he told her as he then smoothed his medallion, smiling as his mind went back, "One such man helped me see this through his knowledge and skills. He gave me guidance and knowledge, and gifted me with this medallion, especially at a time where I was only getting use to Earth's new age. It's helped me a great amount, using magic to my own means, see things were not as simple as I thought. Through him, I learned...so I let him live. He was, in my view, a man who saw how the world was and needed a true leader with a true desire of prosper and glory. A kind of man, who gifted those with knowledge and words to push forward and saw the world in such a way, is a man I'll let live." he explained, his eyes looking like they were glowing as he looked back on his meeting with the man.

Kagami couldn't help but smirk at him, seeing how more chilled he looked in looking back on his life. It was also rare to see him looking so pleasant in talking of someone he once knew.

"Sounds like you had a soft spot for some people. Glad to know there were some you couldn't dream of killing." she noted, getting a chuckle out of him.

"I always have my certain favourites. Though I do have to ask you, Given what we've talked of; is there someone who you particularly don't want to kill? Or is it something more?" He asked, his voice interested and considerate, like he was being a father giving his daughter certain guidance. That stunned Kagami, who looked thoughtful over his words.

"With how we operate, not just us, but our enemies, I just wonder what if...Marinette would be my enemy? If she is my relative, how can I bring myself to kill her? Or even yet, what would she think of me if she knew I did kill someone? It's been going around my head ever since I came to Paris." she admitted, her voice getting frustrated and sad as she was already picturing herself and Marinette in a situation.

Vandal's eyes became soft for a second with a hint of sympathy, but it was only brief. He looked away from her and held back a blow of air, not wanting to show it was getting to him. He instead used more thoughtful words to give Kagami advice.

"I heard of your thoughts about the blue haired girl. There isn't any way of telling if you two are related, given how far apart you two were raised. But even if you were, would you even want to confront her and tell her of your existence? You said yourself, she would be ashamed to see what you were doing, even though it's for the good of her and humanity. Some things are just best left a secret in this situation, my dear. Take my words to heart and think it over." He told her, his voice wise and full of inspiration, growing stronger as he put his own hurtful memories away.

Kagami looked down at her feet as he put those words out. It was indeed something she might have to accept, not talking to Marinette in any way possible, and accept it's likely she's not her relative. She just wished she had more time to at least get an answer she could keep to herself...

It was then clunking footsteps of metal came to towards the two, making them look up to see the dark, bulky figure of Black Manta approaching the two, only this time he was unmasked, his eyes just as cold and serious as were his red optics. He didn't take notice of Kagami, instead just looking at Vandal.

"Sir, it's only a few hours until the election campaign starts. Shall me and Shiva ready the troops?" he asked, his voice serious but a hint of eagerness in it. Eager for a fight. Vandal smiled, telling Kagami his answer was already there.

"Get them ready, Manta".

The smile on Black Manta's face was so chilling that Kagami swore she could see ice around his lips. She'd never seen him smile in all the time she'd been recruited into this twisted organization. She'd often wondered if he even could, now she was left wondering if he could ever deliver a genuine smile after that one.

"By your command, Lord Savage." Black Manta said proudly.

He left the room to rally the troops for the plan. Once Savage and Kagami were alone again, the Asian girl looked up to the immortal man.

"Are you going to do what I think you're going to do?" she asked curiously.

Savage only looked down at her with a look of steel in his eyes. Kagami shivered, not liking the way he looked at her.

"We must leave an impression if we want to sway public opinions in our favour my child." he purred, "And political issues often yield the results we strive for..."

Meanwhile, a certain other blue-haired girl was having a conversation with an ancient man whose age defied all possibility. Marinette had slipped out of the bakery and made her way over to Master Fu's place to inform him on everything had happened after the Miraculouses had been bestowed on their chosen candidates. To avoid attracting attention, she had moved casually and slowly as if this was just another day for her. It worked for nobody looked at her as she walked by, though Marinette couldn't help but sweep her eyes over every person she walked by in the streets. Hearing about the Light had developed a sense of paranoia in her that she'd never had before. It was the chilling implication that anybody could secretly be working for her that made her uneasy so despite her casual manner, she kept an eye out for anyone even remotely suspicious. If anyone so much as took an interest in her, she'd try to lose them. But luckily for her, nobody acted suspiciously or did anything out of the ordinary. If there were any Light agents, they weren't in this part of the city.

Upon arriving at Fu's, she'd gotten a pleasant surprise for she wasn't the only one paying the Miraculous keeper a visit. She walked through the door and gasped as she saw a tall, dark-skinned boy with tattoos that snaked around his arms and hair cut very short to the point he looked like a skinhead. She knew who this boy was of course. She'd only met him earlier this week along with the rest of his team.

"Oh! Kaldur! I didn't think you'd be here as well." Marinette said in surprise, "How great it is to see you here too!"

"The feeling is mutual Miss Dupain-Cheng." Kaldur said bluntly, "I take it you've come here for a reason?"

"Of course! I'd never come to Master Fu if I didn't have a reason." Marinette said, her tone matter-of-fact as if wondering why Kaldur felt the need to say that.

She then quickly filled in Master Fu on the training sessions that had transpired since giving the Miraculouses to her's and Adrien's chosen ones. She didn't skimp on any details, enlightening him on the whole training from their powers to their weapons and how to use them in combat. The old Chinese man looked impressed to hear everything that was being said to him. His old face curled up into a grin of pleasure.

"I knew I could trust yours and Adrien's judgement on who was worthy." he complimented, "You've both done me and many other keepers before me proud by giving the Miraculouses to those with a good heart and a potential for greatness."

"Thank you." Marinette said graciously, "Pity you didn't see any of it Kaldur. You'd have been as impressed as Tim, Conner and M'gann were when they saw it."

"I'm sure seeing the new heroes in action will make up for it." Kaldur said simply, "Speaking of which, that is why I'm here now. Me and Tim will be coordinating the new heroes from here as the elections take place today."

"Tim's here as well? Where is he then?" the French girl asked.

"Just here in the back room with Adrien and Stephanie, setting up some stuff, c'mon in!" called the Robin, who quickly caught the attention of those in the living room.

All of them going into the back room, they found Tim with some form of radio equipment, including some monitor screens set up too, showing the soap box that people of the press and public were gathering at, including a digital map, him and Stephanie showing it over to Adrien, who smiled upon seeing his girlfriend.

"Yeah, I meant to tell you they were here, but they showed up early in the morning I got a bit busy helping them here" he explained, getting a forgiving nod from his girlfriend.

"I get what you mean, no need to say sorry." she assured her boyfriend as she joined his side, looking everything over.

"We decided to set up coordinations from here so as to avoid any suspicions from those in the hotel, they'd be wondering why some of the young kids on the top floor haven't come out and we can't have them coming into the middle of a secret communications works." Stephanie explained to Marinette, who gave her a nod.

"Can see why. You don't mind them doing this, do you, Master Fu?" she asked the old Asian man, who smiled pleasantly.

"No I don't. I'm glad to use my home as another means of helping you all. And it's nice to have more than Adrien and Constantine as my company. No offence." he shyly offered Adrien, who giggled.

"Heh, it's okay, we can all do with a break from Constantine." he said in a agreeable tone, getting a smirk out of Tim.

"Heh, I wonder where he is now? Digging up some demons on the country while smoking out in a bar?" he jokingly asked, not seeing how nervous Master Fu was looking.

"Ohhhh he's busy, in his own way. But as long as he's not smoking and rambling in my home, I'm happy." he said hastily, sounding glad, a bit too glad.

Kaldur pointed to the digital map monitor and they noticed a fox and turtle symbol on one side of it, telling them already who they were.

"Given your friends gave us permission to put communicator chips on their phones, we can follow their every move and call them when we need to give them some guidance and alert them. As you mentioned, when you transform, communication through phones is a lot easier for you for your weapons act as upgraded versions of your phones, so hopefully we'll still be able to talk to them." he explained, his voice serious as he trailed his fingers over the symbols. Marinette eyed the bee one as it came into view.

"Can see Lila is on her way too, given her parents will be there to give Brian support. Just hope to see Alix get there soon." she said in a hopeful tone, wanting everyone there for any fight that would come at them.

Tim then stood up and faced the French lovebirds, his voice soft but giving a hint of sternness. "Even though we'll guide you from here, we will have Conner, Bart and M'gann there too and will give you a hand if things get too much for you guys to handle. You won't mind that, will you?" he asked, just to see if they were still on the right road about it. Adrien nodded.

"Yeah, we agreed to it. If we get hit too hard, send in your guys." he said brightly.

"But try to make your involvement as inconspicuous as you can. We gotta make sure our friends leave a good impression on everyone." Marinette reminded, getting a nod from Tim.

"Good thing we sent a speedster and a shapeshifter in. Conner looks like an ordinary guy in a baseball cap and his speed can help make him look inconspicuous too." he replied as Adrien then saw a rabbit sign appear in the map, smiling.

"There's Alix. Knew they were all in on this. Um, when is Brian starting his speech?" he then asked.

"In about an hour, so if I were you two, you better get moving, that way you can get closer to the front." Stephanie told him.

Adrien nodded and zipped his jacket up, with Plagg flying around him.

"Whoever shows up will be nothing compared to Darkseid, I can kick their butts myself!" he said gladly, getting a giggle out of Adrien.

"Bet you can, lil guy!" he said, giving him a piece of cheese to get him charged and ready. Kaldur looked to Marinette with his eyes as sharp as ever.

"With how the Light operates, you'll need to wear a big coat to avoid any spies seeing you transform." he told her, not needing to tell her boyfriend for he needed to hide in plain sight constantly. Master Fu smiled and took Marinette by the arm.

"I've got a spare in my wardrobe, it'll just fit you my dear." he assured kindly, taking her to get it.

As they went to find the wardrobe in the other room, Nooroo flew beside them both and looked to Marinette with a nervous look.

"Marinette, Whatever you do, if anyone of the Light appears, do not mention me. I can only imagine Vandal would want me to akumatize people like Gabriel did. For all I know he likely managed to talk to Joker while he was in Arkham." he told her, only for Marinette to give the little Kwami one of her light smiles.

"Like I'd say anything to him or anyone. If they appear, there's one thing we have to do, and that's to kick their butts." she told him, her voice sounding sure of what she was talking about. Master Fu grinned as he gave her a big dark burgundy coat that had a black hood on it.

"Now that is fighting talk, my dear. Now, be brave and be a great leader, like the many Ladybugs that came before you." he said pleasantly, giving her a smile that told her he trusted her that much. Marinette returned the smile as she slipped on the coat, ready to go and fight alongside her friends.

"Oh you bet I will Master Fu." the blue-haired teen said optimistically, "I won't let you down. I'll lead this team to victory and we'll send the Light packing!"

"You might wanna get to the press tour then if you wanna do that because that's where the Light will be if they're making a move." Steph snickered.

Marinette just grinned sheepishly, realizing that she was just wasting time and should get a move on as Steph indicated.

"Of course. Let's get going Adrien before the campaign starts!" she cried, grabbing Adrien by the arm and dragging him out of the room.

"Whoa, easy Marinette, I can run beside you no problem!" Adrien yelped as the two teens quickly made their way out.

As soon as they left, Tim and Steph turned to one another with the latter grinning slyly to her boyfriend.

"Don't you think they're kinda like us in a way?" she said jovially, "I mean, young love and teen romance and all while being kickass superheroes..."

"Yes Steph, I get it." Tim said with a half-hearted smile on his face, "We were kinda like that when we first started dating. Let's just hope they're like us to the point they're capable superheroes who can hold their own."

"Those two went up against DARKSEID and lived to tell about it! I think they're good Tim." Steph noted.

"True, but the Light is a kind of foe they've never really fought before. I hope they and their new friends will pull through." the current Robin murmured.

Steph nodded understandingly. Fighting off akumatized villains, a powered-up Joker and a literal god was one thing, but an organization that operated mostly in the shadows and relied on manipulation of events, contingencies for just about everything they did and was more about brainpower than muscle power was something else entirely. It was going to be interesting, but also nerve-racking, to see how the French heroes would handle a foe like the Light...if they actually decided to attack this conference today...

* * *

The conference was going to be a huge political event for the city of Paris, but even the people attending it would have no idea just how big it was about to be. This was all about electing the next Mayor of Paris, and like with any political debate, nobody would know just how big a change to the climate of a big city or country would be until the results came in. And as usual, the results would either bring a great moment in history to document for the people who voted, or bring despair that would make those who voted regret who they chose. And with the candidates on offer today, nobody could anticipate what would happen if either one of them became the next mayor.

Still, it was something new for certain people to get involved in, for in the crowd to the far side on the right, just avoiding a huge chunk of the crowd, was Alya and Nino, who looked around with tension tight in their stomachs and chests.

"I thought conventions were crowded enough. Difference is they're full of people we relate to. This is full of different kinds of mindsets!" Alya pointed out as she saw a few placards high in the air of the crowd above everyone's heads.

"Yeah. Hope a riot doesn't start or anything, last thing we need is getting whacked by some angry political supporter." Nino said in agreement, knowing how dangerous these places could get with what he saw on the news.

"This is civilised compared to what we saw in our time." Wayzz whispered from Nino's pocket, poking his little head out, with Nino gently covering his head to avoid anyone seeing him.

"Yeah, at least you have police officers, in the old days, everyone would kill each other as soon as everything would get started. Crazy, I tell ya" Trixx added as he poked his head out of Alya's purse, getting a giggle from the Martiquean girl.

"Fair point. You guys have a lot to tell us when we've beaten the Light's butts." she whispered to her Kwami, who gave her a wink.

"I'll leave out the gruesome stuff, darling." he assured as Nino got out his phone.

"Just calling in on Alix, seeing if she's around." he said to his girlfriend as he gave Wayzz a smooth on the head.

Over to the left, just outside the cordoned off metal fence to contain the crowd, Alix watched on at the crowd in confusion.

"I always thought it was funny seeing these guys gathered when on TV. Now though, it's scary when I'm here in person. And loud too." she grumbled as everyone began chanting all kinds of stuff she couldn't even make sense of. Fluff then tapped her from the inside of her pocket, making her look down to see the Rabbit Kwami sliding her ringing phone out to her.

"Yeah, so loud you couldn't hear your phone, answer it!" she squeaked, making it sound urgent. Seeing it was Nino, Alix swiped it open and greeted him with a casual hello.

"I take it You're here too? Yeah, I know, it's just hard to cope with all this noise blaring around us! I'm used to my own music, not this! I'll keep my phone in hand, so I can hear it more easy! You do the same! I'll keep an ear out for our orders!" she yelled into it, since Nino was struggling to hear her. With that, she turned her phone off, sighing as she kept her head low, looking down at the Rabbit Kwami.

"Just hope Ladybug and Chat Noir are around here somewhere. Don't want to face these creeps on our own." she said, feeling her arms tremble slightly as she realised just how serious this was now that she was here. Fluff gave her a smile of warmth.

"They will. Just you wait. They always come, no matter what." she said, making a smile come over Alix.

"Yeah, that's right. They always do, this is no different" she said as she remembered all the times they were there to save everyone.

Nino put his phone away as Alya got her phone out.

"Yeah, she's here. She's hating the noise though, can't say I blame her. Not our style in the slightest." he told her as she nodded.

"Yeah. Just hope Lila is coping, since she's gonna be hearing most of the crap that Brian will be saying." she said in a sympathetic tone as she rang the Italian girl.

Over towards the front, near where Brian would appear, was where Lila and her parents were sat. She got her phone out and plugged a finger into one of her ears to hear Alya more clearly.

"Yeah, I'm here. With how I exploded yesterday, mama and papa want me to see Brian at his "greatest and most powerful", so they wanna keep me around for a bit." she said, leaning to her left to try and hear Alya more clearly. She sighed and glanced at her parents who were talking to each other.

"They've calmed down with me a bit, but I'm not sure how to take things with them. I'll see you sooner or later." she added as she slid her phone into her purse, giving Pollen a quick hello before closing it. She looked to her mother mostly, getting a more softer look from her in response. Amara sighed and smoothed her back.

"My dear, I'm sorry to drag you out here. We just want you to see what good Brian will do. But after this we'll take you out for the night, have some catching up to do. I think I should hear you out a bit more since we came here." she whispered to her ear so she could hear her. Lila responses with a small smile and nod, though she didn't really feel anything else but a small warmth come over her, hoping her mother would listen more.

Standing in the middle of the crowd were three well hidden, plain clothed teens that were behaving well without getting attention.

"It always feels weird doing the whole "hiding in plain sight" thing." said one of the teens, glancing around as if worried he was being watched, "It's like the enemy should see you and that you should be trying to avoid them yet neither of those things happen!"

"The fact it works so well is why we do it Bart." the second teen muttered, "Nobody ever expects superheroes to hide in plain sight."

"I only wish we could've chosen somewhere else to hide in plain sight." the third teen said in annoyance "How can these humans bear to attend events like these when there's so much noise and unsettled behaviour here? Back on Mars, political rallies were never THIS chaotic!"

"Nah, you probably just did it all in your heads instead." Conner chuckled.

"It'd still get loud once everybody started telepathically speaking at once." M'gann replied.

It was appropriate that Conner should bring this up for in order to hear each other, the trio had been doing just that, conversing telepathically. It was much easier for everyone to hear themselves when they just talked in their minds to each other rather than speaking out loud. Also it made it impossible for anyone to try and eavesdrop unless they were telepathic themselves, but M'gann hadn't picked any up so they were in the clear on that too. Conner, M'gann and Bart had been positioned by Tim to be the ones to look over the conference and watch over the new Miraculers. They remembered their orders to be as inconspicuous as possible so as not to overshadow them. Young Justice maybe here to stop the Light, but this was the home of Ladybug and Cat Noir. How could Paris trust its heroes if America's heroes made them look bad in comparison. From where they stood, they'd have a clear view of the candidates of this conference and would be able to watch what Armand and Brian did between them. M'gann would also report to Tim, through telepathy of course, to let him know how things are going and if the Light attacked. She, Conner and Bart already knew that the Miraculers would be here and she located them quickly with a brief telepathic sweep of the crowd. She kept the link open to only Conner and Bart so she wouldn't let them in on their conversation.

"The Miraculers are all here, including Marinette and Adrien. They're just taking their places." the Martian informed.

"So the new gang's all here." Conner replied brightly, "With us three and France's heroes, both old and new, I'd say this place is well-protected."

"Hey, I think the debate's about to begin!" Bart cried.

Conner groaned.

"Oh great. Let's hear what crap this moron has to say." he grumbled.

He was gonna suffer the most due to his super hearing as it would feel like he'd be standing right next to Brian. Bart just snickered.

"I can always run up to him and pull his pants down. He wouldn't even see me." he joked, getting a giggle out of Conner.

"Heh, that would be humiliating." he said gladly.

From where he was, Brian smiled pleasantly as she smoothed his suit jacket a bit to rub out any creases to look as presentable as possible. He was going to enjoy what reactions he'd get, it was something he was glad to do. Create a division and spark the brains to do some thinking. He was thankful he had enough to start this. His eyes on the soap box as Nadjia spoke, she waved her hand towards him.

"I'm Nadjia Chammack, live from Paris. I present to you the first of two political campaign conferences this week. I now give way to one of the two leading candidates, Brian Beaumont!" she stated, stepping aside to let Brian walk his way towards the soap box.

Smiling, Brian made his way up to it, with the sound of thousands of voices greeting his ears. Their noise, a mixture of boos and cheers, hit him like a full gust of wind, but it didn't do anything to take the smile off his face. He was coldly focused, as if the voices of others meant little to him. He stood on the soap box, giving everyone a charming smile as he waited for their voices to go down. He did point a proud finger towards Lila's parents, with Amara giving him a small wave, Lila's father gave him a clap, while Lila just glared at him, still angry at how their conversation went.

From where they were, hiding in the crowd with both hoods up, Marinette cringed at the sight of him.

"He's even more creepy now. Looks like he's got something ready to burst out of his head." she whispered to her boyfriend, who nodded.

"Yeah. It's weird to me that he's smiling, given he always looked cold and rude whenever he spoke to us. Guess he's gotta do it if he's gonna win." Adrien replied, not liking what he was seeing in front of him.

When the crowd's noise died, Brian smiled as he stood tall, taking hold of his microphone as he began to talk to everyone.

"Greetings, my fellow citizens! So begins the campaign, a campaign I aim to win! Our dear previous mayor, Andre, was lost to us, his heart destroyed by the loss of his daughter! Taking over from such a lively, popular man is something I'll struggle to do, but it's something gladly take on, to run this beautiful city and make it a city as light and bright as he did!" he declared, his starting talk done, which was met by a few claps from everyone. His voice was calm, but passionate and had such a power to it in such a tone it was a wonder how he raised it.

Alya just tutted at this.

"Yeah, be all nice to start with. Gonna get rude now, I'm telling ya." she whispered to Nino, who nodded.

"I'm not gonna like this..." he muttered as the noise died down again, with Brian's face going serious.

"His death was a huge pain inflicted onto him by not only the criminals that took his daughter from him, but the burden our country has! A burden that has turned this city into a target for criminals overseas and from the stars! I aim to control the burden, for too long they have been out of control! How many have suffered since they first appeared? How many akumatised? How many dead!? How many more will die!? Our children, their parents, how many more!? The people we call heroes painted a big bullseye on Paris and took many from us, from people of the public, to our mayor! I aim to strengthen our police forces, to let them do their jobs, to save us, not Ladybug and Chat Noir! They are merely teenagers with no idea of how to protect us! They need to learn their places!"

What came next, though, was more of a shock to Brian. At first there was silence, which left the hidden heroes in the crowd confused. Even Conner and M'gann looked lost for a few seconds, not knowing what was going on. Bart thought time had frozen around him. Lila felt nervous, seeing her parents weren't reacting, looking scared in all honesty. She decided to wait before she could make a thoughtful conclusion. Marinette, however, couldn't help but smile. She knew what would come next.

What came next was...

**"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" **

Brian cringed at little, closing his eyes tightly from what he was hearing. It was as if a thousand people gathered behind a giant foghorn and shouted through it. He thought he was gonna go deaf from it. Lila couldn't help but grin at this, seeing his confidence get hit from this. He waved his hands, trying to get everyone to lower their voices.

"Please, let me explain, please! I can understand some of you are passionate about them, but let me explain!" he yelled, his voice frustrated.

M'gann leaned towards her boyfriend.

"Conner, see if you can use your x-ray vision to scan him. See if he's got an earpiece of sorts or something suspicious." she told him.

Conner did just that. He focused his eyes on Brian, literally trying to see right through him as his X-ray vision was activated. Being cloned from a Kryptonian gave him many of the abilities that Superman was renowned for, especially X-ray vision. With just a thought, a person he was looking at could turn inside out and appear to him as a walking mass of muscle, veins and bones as if their skin was see-through. It was a handy way to spot duplicates from the real people, find hidden weapons or even provide medical checks to see if the person was fine. He focused on Brian, determined to find anything even remotely suspicious about him. But surprisingly enough, he couldn't find anything out of the ordinary. Conner searched and searched with his X-ray eyes but Brian didn't seem to have anything untoward about him whatsoever. No hidden devices, no hidden weapons, nothing to indicate he wasn't human or anything of the sort. He seemed like just your normal politician. Had they been wrong this whole time and Brian had nothing to do with the Light? It wouldn't be the first time they'd made that mistake in their superhero careers. The Light had a way of making anyone seem like a potential agent, obvious or not.

"Nothing." Conner murmured, still communicating telepathically so M'gann and Bart could hear him above the noise of the crowd, "Everything seems normal about him. And yet it feels like there's something about him I can't get a read on."

"I know they say seeing is believing, but sometimes we can't trust what we see." M'gann acknowledged, "If he is what we think he is, he could have ways of making sure even an X-ray glance wouldn't reveal anything about him."

"I hope you're not suggesting we strip-search him!" Bart cried, "Last thing I wanna imagine is that guy naked!"

"No, of course not! We could get in trouble for sexual assault if we did that!" M'gann snapped, disgusted Bart had even considered she'd suggest such a thing, "If we were to search him more thoroughly, we'd need the scanners of the Watchtower. There's nothing they don't miss."

"Hold that thought M'gann, I see something." Conner suddenly said.

He had decided to use his X-ray vision again just to make sure he hadn't missed anything on Brian. But what he'd picked up instead was something else entirely. He could see several figures creeping around on the nearby rooftops, clearly intending to get a clear view of the conference and be as close as they could without attracting attention. He didn't know what they truly looked like as he could just see their skeletons with his X-ray vision, but he could tell from their body language and how they were clearly taking care not to be seen that they meant bad news. They appeared to be armed for he could make out weapons that they were carrying. One of them appeared to be holding a rifle of some kind. Sniper no doubt. That could only mean one thing...

"Alert the Miraculers!" Conner's voice exclaimed in M'gann and Bart's heads, "There's men on the roof! One of them's got a sniper rifle!"

"Oh Mars no!" M'gann shrieked, "We should've expected the Light to try and sabotage this conference! I'll reach out to them now!"

She closed her eyes and used her mind to open up a telepathic link to Marinette, Adrien and the newly recruited Miraculers. The teens all flinched as they literally heard a voice in their heads, warning them on what Conner had seen.

"Don't panic, it's only me, Miss Martian of Young Justice!" M'gann's voice echoed in their minds, "Superboy has spotted snipers on the rooftops! You've gotta act now, all of you!"

She then shut off the telepathic link so the French heroes could concentrate and react accordingly without her voice in their heads. Marinette turned to Adrien urgently.

"Well, that's our cue! Let's get out of here so we can transform!" Marinette cried.

"Anything to get out of this crowd!" Adrien said, sounding a little too eager to leave.

As the two lovebirds pushed their way out of the crowd, though, Alix darted around on her feet, her eyes looking all around the place up at the sky. Her teeth gritting, she got out her phone and scrolled down onto the alien sign on her contacts. Tapping it, she put it to her ears and ran from the cordoned fence, looking up around her. She quickly got an answer, answered by M'gann.

"What is it, Bunnyx?" she asked.

"Which rooftop did you see them on? I can warp up to it! Tell me where they are!" she called into the phone as she reached to a cover of a building away from the crowds.

"On the building to the left of our vision, on Brian's right!" M'gann replied, giving Alix a clear direction to look at. Her eyes narrowing, she could see the barrel of a gun being moved around.

"I see them. Leave it to me!" she said as she put her phone away, M'gann's warnings of her to stay careful getting cut off as she let Fluff fly up beside her.

"Ready?" she asked her Kwami, who nodded.

"Ready as always!"

As she went on with her transformation, Lila felt nervous as she didn't want to risk suspicion by running off, but she knew she couldn't just sit around. But she knew she could at least pull off another trick that she hoped would give her time. She looked to her parents and stood up, leaning towards her mother.

"I need to go, this is getting too much!" she said, hoping her mother heard her above the crowd's booing. Amara could only frown, not hearing her properly and looked confused when she ran off.

Alya and Nino were struggling against the crowd, trying to climb over the cordoned fence.

"Ugh, at this rate, we're not gonna stop them!" Alya groaned as her boyfriend pushed her over the side, getting her out of the crowd's crushing weight.

"You can go without me, transform and I'll catch up!" he told her, not realising one of their own was already hard at work.

Up on the rooftop, the gunmen were clad in black armour with red visors that were shaped like a motorcycler's, but had jet packs on their backs. The lead sniper radioed in on his ear com.

"In position now, sir. Target in sights and no sign of Ladybug and Chat Noir. Clear to fire?" he asked as his three other colleagues peeked their heads over the top to get a look.

"Not yet. Wait until the crowd stops yelling." came the response from Black Manta.

"Understood. Standing by." he replied.

However, a bright blue glow suddenly beamed over him and his fellow men from behind, startling them. Turning around, they tried not to gasp as they saw Bunnyx jump out, smirking as she folded her arms. Taking notice of how stunned they looked, she pointed to herself.

"What? Never seen someone with rabbit ears before? Guess hunting season ain't today if you're too shocked to shoot." she taunted the gunmen. They unfroze themselves from their shock, standing up and facing her, pulling out electric batons.

"Take her down, don't use guns!" their leader yelled, wanting to kill the girl that was in front of them. Bunnyx pulled her umbrella from her back, smirking.

"Bring it, boys!" she yelled, pulling her arm back.

They surrounded her in a circle formation, thinking they could jump on her and beat her down. Instead, though, they were left confused as she swiftly drawn a rune out in front of her, an S and T getting made. Just as they went to jump at her, they found their whole bodies come to slow down, for even their fingers were only moving just inch by inch while they looked they were frozen in mid air. Bunnyx slid underneath the leader and swung her umbrella up into his groin, watching as his head reached back ever so slowly from the attack "Should've worn cup armour, pal!" She yelled as she then whacked him on the back with her umbrella, sending him crashing towards the floor. She ran towards the next slow moving gunman, kicking him in the side and sending him flying into his colleague, before finishing the last one off with a whack to his chin, sending him into a cartwheel flip that sent him crashing onto his back. Time caught up and Bunnyx quickly kicked their electric batons to one side, seeing they were down for the time being before running to the sniper rifle set up. She took it in her other hand.

"Time to see if my strength really is enhanced." she said to herself as she brought her knee up and slammed the rifle on it. She gasped as she saw it snap like a twig, making her grin.

"Whoa! Now that's leg power!" she said proudly as she threw the rifle's damaged pieces aside, before opening up her comm.

"Guys, I took down the snipers, piece of cake." she said gladly.

"Okay, but standby, Bunnyx, me and Chat are going to try and escort Brian out of here." Ladybug replied, her face sharing the screen with Tim.

"Do it quick, if these snipers are here, there'll be others coming." he warned them.

"On it!" Ladybug replied.

Now that she and Cat Noir had transformed, safe and out of public view, they quickly swung towards the conference. Both were willing to risk being lectured by Brian out in the open if it meant saving his life out there. At least Armand would be grateful. Ladybug landed on the podium with Cat Noir pole-vaulting into position beside her. This earned a chorus of excited gasps and cries from the audience as they saw their beloved heroes.

"Look! It's Ladybug and Cat Noir!"

"They can show Brian how wrong he is on his beliefs!"

"Show him why you're our heroes Ladybug and Cat Noir!"

Brian a stared incredulously at the duo as if confused why they were there. He gave the two a dirty look that could've made a lion feel nervous. The duo ignored him.

"Brian, you have to get out of here now! There's an assassination attempt at play here!" Ladybug cried frantically.

"We saw snipers on the roof and sent one of our new friends to take them out!" Cat Noir explained, "But we fear this isn't over! Get out of here now!"

The crowd began to murmur anxiously upon hearing this. The reporters covering the event were unsure what to say and the photographers couldn't resist getting a shot of France's heroes talking to the first mayoral candidate up on the podium. Despite all this, Brian seemed unwilling to comply with their orders.

"I will not be ordered around by costumed criminals like you two!" he snarled, "Who do you think you are telling us to up and leave like that?"

"A pair of people willing to save your life regardless of your opinions about us." Ladybug retorted, "I'm telling you, you and Armand are in danger! Please, I'm begging of you, you've gotta get out of here before the assassins strike again!"

"Do you expect me to believe such rubbish?" Brian snorted, "As if anybody would be willing to take a shot at me on this fine day!"

Ladybug was starting to lose her patience. She would drag this man away kicking and screaming if she had to! Anything to save him from an inevitable death! But before she was about to do so, she heard a soft bang behind her and as she turned to see what it was, Ladybug found herself engulfed by a fist of smoke that seemed to punch out of nowhere. Ladybug, Cat Noir, Brian and Armand began to cough as thick smoke covered them. Nobody had seen who threw the smoke bomb and nobody could see much of anything with smoke billowing around the area. Just so they wouldn't lose sight of the candidates, Ladybug and Cat Noir grabbed hold of Armand and Brian and looked around wildly, trying to see through the smoke. What they saw was a pair of red eyes glowing in the darkness. Before they could make out what it was, the eyes fired a pair of lasers at Ladybug and Cat Noir, knocking them both down to the ground. The teen heroes grunted and just as they stood back up, Ladybug gasped as somebody seized her by the arm, twisted it behind her back and then shoved a katana under her throat, threatening to slice her head off. Cat Noir found himself in the same position, though his assailant seemed to be smaller than Ladybug's. As the smoke cleared, Black Manta approached Ladybug and Cat Noir, his huge red eyes glowering at them as if he was trying to reach into their souls and suck them dry. Ladybug assumed he was the one leading this operation for he seemed to be in charge. If Hawk Moth hadn't died, she could've easily identified him as another akuma villain thanks to his bulky armour and monstrous appearance. Did he work for the Light?

**"So...you two are the heroes of this city?" **Black Manta scoffed, his voice condescending and mocking, **"I'm insulted. Killing you two won't be worth a second of my time. Regardless, we'll kill you both once we've made an example out of Brian Beaumont..."**

* * *

_**This is bad! This is oh so bad! 0_0 Ladybug and Cat Noir: At sword point! Brian Beaumont: In danger! Black Manta: Ready to make the kill! Our heroes: completely powerless to stop him? Join in next time as the battle for Brian carries out and see who will emerge triumphant, our heroes or The Light...**_


	9. Chapter 8: An American Villain In Paris

_Chapter 8: An American Supervillain In Paris_

Ladybug and Cat Noir were in a tight situation. So tight that if they made any wrong move, they would be dead. The two super-teens were being held at sword-point by Lady Shiva and Kagami, while Black Manta was preparing to execute Brian Beaumont in front of the horrified audience that was staring at them. What should've been a political conference to determine who would be Paris's next mayor had become a terrifying scene that would make world news. The Light was making its move and now France's heroes were helpless to stop them. Even the new recruits didn't dare make a move in fear of provoking the villainesses and causing them to slit Ladybug and Cat Noir's throats. But there was still Young Justice to help and they were already planning to make a move. Up on the stage, Black Manta briefly nodded over at Shiva and Kagami as the martial artists held them firm with their swords at their throats.

**"Don't kill them just yet. I want them to witness their failure to protect these pathetic politicians." **he boomed.

"Of course. No death is greater for a hero than one where their last moment of life is filled with shame and horror over those they couldn't save." Shiva purred wickedly.

Ladybug shivered. Whoever this "Shiva" woman was, she had a voice colder than the eighth circle of hell. Her heart pounded with fear as she tried to find a way out of this. Shiva had her held tight and if she made any wrong move, she would be dead. She and Cat Noir watched as Black Manta strode over to Brian and picked him up, the scarred man seeming to weigh nothing in his hands. Despite being face-to-face with a costumed criminal with terrifying red eyes, Brian refused to be intimidated.

"Put me down at once you masked menace! Do you have any idea who I am?!" the French politician demanded.

**"Dead meat as far as I'm concerned." **Black Manta said threateningly, **"Me and my...associates," **he seemed reluctant to refer to them as "friends", **"We don't appreciate what you've been saying about us, as you call us, "Masked Menaces". You think we need to be controlled? Well I'm about to show you what control REALLY is! We'll be the ones in control of this city, and all Parisians will answer to us and not you or your opponent in this debate! I hope the audience is ready because they're about to witness something they'll NEVER forget..."**

The energy in his helmet's eyes began to build up, clearly showing that Black Manta was about to blow Brian's head off completely. Brian just closed his eyes, seeming to accept his fate. Ladybug at Cat Noir stared in horror, afraid for Brian's life and how this horrific execution would effect the audience. But just as all hope seemed lost, a white and red blur shot out of nowhere and hit Black Manta, whisking him off his feet and taking him for a ride. Brian collapsed onto the stage, spluttering from what had happened. The audience gasped, wondering what had happened.

As for Black Manta, he was whirled away by the blur and sent crashing into a nearby car. Said car just happened to belong to Audrey Bourgeois, who was running towards it in hopes of getting away from the terrible scene that was happening at the conference. She screamed in terror as she saw the armoured man hit her car and slump against it, wondering what had hit him.

"MY CAR!" she shrieked, "THAT WAS BRAND NEW AND PAID FOR OUT MY OWN POCKET! I'LL HAVE YOU FIRED FROM WHATEVER JOB YOU HAVE FOR THIS!"

Black Manta just stood up and glared at her. Audrey whimpered and ran off screaming, not wanting to stick around. He turned and saw that the thing that had hit him was just who he expected. The teen speedster was standing before him, waving his finger tauntingly.

"Now, now Black Manta, is that anyway to treat a lady?" Impulse sneered.

**"Should I be surprised you're here?"** Black Manta scoffed, **"The Light suspected you might follow us here. A big mistake for you as Paris will be your grave, you and your team mates!"**

"Stop talking out of your ass, bucket head!" came another voice from behind Black Manta, who turned too late as a fist slammed into his armoured chest, sending him flying about fifty feet down the road and clipping onto the corner, sending him ricocheting down the alleyway. Before he could even get up, he suddenly felt a fast foot kick into his face, sending him spinning onto his back. Dazed for a second, his vision was a mixture of yellow electrical linings covering his red visor before it turned back to normal. Picking himself up, the ocean based mercenary snarled as he saw Superboy standing beside Impulse, shaking his head as he looked at the armoured man.

"We've planted your ass in the ground a lot, this won't be any different!" the super powered clone told him sternly, showing he was not taking this fight lightly. Manta responded by shooting his wrist blades out, glaring at the two.

**"You two alone won't be able to stop me or my colleagues! You are nothing compared to Aquaman, for I will make short work of you!"** he declared.

Impulse just smirked.

"We'll see about that, pal!" he said as he then shot towards Black Manta, delivering fast punches to the armoured man's stomach, sending him skidding back.

Manta responded by trying to swipe the speedster with one of his blades, though Impulse quickly zipped back, with Superboy throwing himself in and blocking the incoming swipe, twisting it back down his side and kicking Manta in the shin, only for the mercenary to fire his optic blasts into Superboy's chest. The blow sent him flying back and burning through his jacket, baring his symbol. Impulse quickly came to his friend's support, giving Manta a swift uppercut that sent him flying back again, only this time Black Manta activated his jet engines, giving him flight in the air. He glared down at the two as Superboy picked himself back up.

**"Like I said, you are nothing compared to Aquaman!"** he yelled as he rocketed down at them, his blades outstretched.

Back at the conference, after the stunned moment passed, Ladybug and Chat Noir made their move, the former swinging out her yoyo and batting Lady Shiva in the face with it, stunning her enough to send her staggering back, while Chat Noir drew his baton out and slammed it into Kagami's armoured chest, sending her crashing into her master, who threw her aside as she let out an angry grunt, frustrated she was caught off guard. Ladybug used the time to twist her yo-yo around and summoned her Ladyblades, their pink like aura glowing softly as she aimed them at Kagami, who was now facing her, while Chat Noir faced Shiva, his baton ready.

"You made a mistake coming to our city. Can't wait to put my foot up your arses!" Ladybug yelled, clearly not joking around like she did with akumas.

Shiva narrowed her eyes at the blue haired girl as more of her ninjas joined their side.

"So foolish!" she responded as she then thrust her blade forward to Chat Noir, who batted it away with a counter swipe, while Ladybug twirled in the air towards Kagami, her Ladyblades spinning out like a Beyblade that tore down at Kagami, who gasped but kept her sword up, using it as a shield that managed to block Ladybug's swipes cutting past.

The four ninjas stepped in, trying to cut down the two as they focussed on their prime opponents, but two ninjas only found their swords connecting with one of the Ladyblades, with Ladybug outstretching one while driving the other against Kagami. She slide her blades down and rolled away quickly to avoid a collective swipe against her, stabbing her blades onto the ground and kicking the two ninjas away by using her swords as pole vaults, sending them flying back, though she found herself kicked out of the air by Kagami, sending her dropping onto the floor and skid across it. She went to stab her, only for Ladybug to quickly block the blade with her two others, driving her back with a push.

Chat Noir was struggling against Lady Shiva, who was slashing away at his baton at lightning speed. He was struggling to see where her attacks were coming. He'd NEVER seen anyone move so fast in his life! He was sure her blade made contact against his arms a few times, leaving a few stings on them. However, the other two ninjas gave him a quick response, seeing them coming at him from both sides. Cat Noir took his baton up, blocking another incoming swipe from Shiva. His eyes watched as her leg began to swing towards him, but he knew what she was doing, so he knew how to get back. He suddenly sliced his baton up and over to her side of her blade, making her eyes widen as he swung himself over her, his tail whipping her on the back of her head, stunning her for a second, giving him a chance to kick her in the back and sent her flying into the two ninjas, knocking them down onto their backs. Chat Noir smirked, getting Shiva to snarl at him as she glared at the two ninjas, frustrated at how easily they went down. She turned back to Chat Noir and jumped into the air, bringing an axe kick down towards him, only for him to block it with another block from his baton.

As they began to fight, Bunnyx was too distracted in watching that she failed to notice one of the snipers getting up, recovering from the beating she gave him. He snarled as he grabbed his electric baton, coming right towards her. Her rabbit ears picked up his footsteps in time, giving her a chance to duck the incoming swipe and rolled away from him, getting her umbrella out to fight him. He activated the electrical mode on his baton, which made a shiver run through Bunnyx's body.

"Okay...this is serious now. No surprise slow downs while he's so close!" she thought to herself as he came out her, bringing his baton down like he was going to cut her in half, though she quickly blocked it with her umbrella.

As Lady Shiva drawn down Chat Noir's baton and kicked him in the chest, Brian tried to get up and run away, with a few security guards coming towards him...including a new one, a young woman with red like hair. She put an arm around him and helped him to his feet.

"We need to get you to safety, sir, stick with me!" she ordered, using her hand to push him forward, getting a grunt out of him.

"I can pick myself up, don't push me!" he snapped at her, only to get another push from her as they gotten down onto the pavement.

"I have to protect you, sir, even through sheer force!" she responded, only for them to come to a halt when Kagami was thrown onto the pavement by Ladybug, landing right in front of them.

The red clad superhero came down towards Kagami with her two blades like spider legs to trap her prey, only for Kagami to kick her in the stomach and send her flying into the wall behind her, stunning the Parisian hero. The security guard gotten nervous, her fists clenched as Kagami gotten up and readying her special sword. She could see Ladybug picking herself back up but she knew time wouldn't be working for them, so she knew she'd have to take a risk...

But as Kagami thrusted her sword forward, landing in between her and Brian was Rena Rouge, who finally came out of hiding, blocking the incoming blade with her flute, getting a shocking gasp from the onlookers, while Ladybug looked up with a thankful look to see her friend joined in. Rena glared at Kagami, who was stunned at the sight of the fox styled superhero.

"Sorry, but no one's dying today!" she told the armoured Japanese Girl, batting her sword up with her flute and jabbing her in the stomach with her weapon, driving her back a bit and giving Ladybug time to get up, joining her side.

"Glad you're here. The others coming?" she asked as another ninja came jumping towards them, slicing down at them, only for Ladybug to block them with her blades with Rena following up with a whack on his head, only for her to narrowly miss an incoming stab from Kagami, pulled it back and went to attack again. But then a yellow spinning top shot out of nowhere and looped around her arm, pulling her back from the two and sending her spinning back like a tornado, only for her to stop herself with a planted sword.

Queen B slammed down onto the ground beside Brian and his security, with Carapace rolling in and blocking another incoming kick from another ninja with his shield. He hooked his arm around Brian, who looked alarmed.

"Wh-Who are you!?" He asked. Carapace gave him a smile.

"The new guys, my pal! Let's get your butt out of here! Lead the way, Queen B!" he ordered, getting a nod from the Italian girl.

"On it, Carapace!" she said, spinning her top around to act as a shield, making Kagami jump aside. They didn't see Brian look really shocked at the mention of Queen B, staring at the Italian superhero as she led the way, though it didn't stop his security guard from noticing, making her look at him oddly.

Rena Rouge gave Carapace a pat on the arm, smiling at him as he helped lead Brian away.

"Take care, my babe! Give any ninja in your way a bruised ass!" she told him, watching as they went in towards the back of the collective vehicles from Brian's campaign group. They both faced down Kagami and the four ninjas.

"I'll take the girl in grey, you take the ninjas. You up for it?" Ladybug asked Rena Rouge, who nodded.

"You got it!" she replied, running towards the ninjas and sliding on her knees, spinning her flute around like a helicopter blade.

They easily jumped over the attack while Kagami ran to Ladybug, swiping away at her in an attempt to cut her up, only for Ladybug to swat away the attacks with her own swords, sparks filling the air from each clash of metal. She backflipped from one swipe coming at her legs, before getting into a tight lock with her, the two glaring at each other as they tried to push the other back.

Kagami, however, had an ace, for her sword's gem flashed pink, which then trailed across the rest of the weapon. Ladybug didn't notice at first what was happening, only for her eyes to widen as a small flash enveloped her eyes, making her stumble back. Blinking away her shock, she saw an identical sword appear from the one Kagami was using, rotating a full one hundred and eighty to facing the other end. Kagami pulled them apart, giving herself two different swords, raising them in defence as she waited for Ladybug to make a strike.

"Now we're equal, little girl." she told the red heroine, who frowned.

"We'll see!" she replied as she planted her swords on the ground and flipped through the air, diving towards her with her swords aimed at her. But Kagami caught them with her own blades and swung herself around, sending Ladybug flying back onto the podium, where her boyfriend was in a struggle of his own.

Shiva was relentless, for whatever block Chat Noir put up, she would find an opening that she quickly used to catch him, slashing across his arm, following with a slash over his leg, making him wince as her sword cut through his leather. Before he could even see it heal up, he was met with a boot to his chin, sending him sprawling across the ground. He grunted as he tried to pick himself up, only for Shiva to kick him in the face again and follow up with a roundhouse kick, sending him on his back. She went to stab him in the stomach, only for him to quickly block with his baton, swiping it aside and kick her in the gut, knocking her back a little, but this didn't stop her onslaught. He was just thankful his magic was healing up his wounds, for it gave him the strength to quickly get up and circle around her swipes. He clutched his baton and twisted it, getting a taunting look from his opponent.

"You think clutching your weapon like a cuddly toy will help you, boy?" she yelled at him as she went to slice down on him, only for him to block it, with green glows lighting from his baton's tips. He gave her a grin.

"Nope, just going to a new resort. Kiss goodbye to your toy!" he taunted as he pushed her sword down and shoved one of his baton tips onto her sword.

He could've taken a picture of Shiva's eyes widening in horror as her sword was turned to ashes, leaving her open for an attack, which he delivered by uppercutting her on the chin, following it up with a kick to her stomach, causing her to land on her crouched feet, glaring at him.

"Clever move, but it won't save you." she muttered as she pulled out two knives from her belt, standing fully as she went to fight him again.

For Bunnyx, it was a similar battle, for the armoured sniper, while his attacks were wild, were something she was struggling to counter. She hooked her handles around his incoming baton and twirled him around her, only for him to slash at her with a twirl of his own, striking her in the side and sending a shock of electricity up her body, making her cry out in pain before he jabbed her in the stomach, leaving her with another shock and open for another attack, this time to her chest, sending her right onto her back.

"Ugh...he must be mad at me for when I whacked his balls." she moaned to herself as she saw him raise his baton over her.

Bunnyx quickly responded by hooking her handle around his ankle, pulling it out to the side and bringing him down to one knee, giving her a chance to kick him in the chest, sending him stumbling back to the point he nearly fell over the edge. This gave Bunnyx time to get up on her feet, a plan forming in her head that she knew would be risky, but had to get it done quick.

She outstretched her hand and drawn a rune from her fingers, something her enemy didn't take notice of at first. He just saw her making a gesture he guessed was her begging for his mercy, something he wasn't going to give. He ran at her, ready to hit her with his baton...only for a portal to open up in front of him and completely take him in. Bunnyx leaned over the edge and watched as the portal opened above Rena as she was fighting the ninjas. Rena rolled out of the way in time, making the sniper land on top of the ninjas, leaving them in a heap. Rena glared at Bunnyx, who gave her a sorry smile.

She turned around and opened her comm.

"To anyone out there, this is Bunnyx. I've finished the guys on the roof, what should I do now?" she asked, hoping to get an answer from someone. She quickly did.

"This is Robin, Bunnyx. The crowd is getting scared and are at risk of getting hurt. Get down there, gather them up and teleport them somewhere safe." he instructed, getting a nod from the rabbit styled hero.

"Got it. I know just the place." she said, an idea forming in her mind as she looked down to the crowd.

As the crowd were continuously crying and screaming over what was going on, they didn't notice Bunnyx appear at the back, resting one hand on her hip as she reached the other one out behind her and drawn a rune, opening up a portal right behind her. Its glow shone over the crowd, who dropped their voices as they turned to see the portal formed there. Bunnyx gave them a smile, hearing a huge amount of gasps from them as they stared at her in awe.

"Don't worry, guys! I'm one of Ladybug and Chat Noir's new friends! On the other side of this portal is the Louvre. It's got enough space for you to take up, so go on through! I'll keep watch!" she assured, quickly taking hold of a woman and her teenaged daughter, who both looked nervous.

"If you want to prove it to everyone, just poke your head back through and tell them." she told the mother, who could only nod nervously as she and her daughter went through, disappearing inside. A second later, the mother poked her head back through and waved at the raft of the crowd.

"The Louvre is on the other side, quick, come!" she called, telling everyone it was safe. That was enough for the crowd to get moving, Bunnyx watching on to give them a sense of protection.

Back in the alleyway, it was getting difficult for Superboy and Impulse, for Black Manta kept himself in the air, giving him more superiority over the two. Impulse ran up the wall and went to roundhouse kick him, but he lost the speed he needed when in midair, giving Black Manta the chance to grab his foot and throw him into a balcony, which collapsed on top of the speedster. Superboy glared at Black Manta and leapt up at him, wrapping his arms around his chest, trying to tear his armour off. Manta groaned and threw his head back into Superboy's face, but this did little to the super powered clone, who reached down to one of his legs and ripped out one of his jets in his armour. This didn't go quite right, for while Black Manta lost his balance in the air, it made Superboy lose his grip slightly, giving Black Manta the chance to swing his leg back and kick Superboy in the stomach, getting him off. He followed this up by shooting him with his optic blasts, sending Superboy crashing into the ground below and leaving him in a crater, smoke riding from the impact.

**"That takes care of them. Might've lost one jet, but I can still get by."** he told himself as he looked back to where the podium was.

He put his jets into full power, flying fast through the sky, where he got a good view of what was going on. He could see Rena Rouge just managing to fight off the ninjas that were surrounding her, Ladybug was in one heck of a duel with Kagami, Chat Noir and Shiva were getting quite brutal with each other, and most of the crowd was nearly gone through Bunnyx's portal, but he could just make out Carapace and Queen B escorting Brian through the back ends of the streets to less occupied areas. He flew towards them, deciding to make quick work of this.

Brian was not only confused but frustrated, not liking the way how his security guard was pushing him with such force and not liking the two new heroes in front of him.

"Just who exactly are you two!? I've never seen you in Paris before!" he yelled, only to get a glare from Queen B.

"New heroes saving your life, simple as that. Be grateful." she told him, not liking his level in voice.

"Just make sure to thank us when this is done, my dude!" Carapace gladly told him, only to get a groan from the scarred man.

They ended up coming to a stop though when Black Manta landed in front of them, smoke rising from his optics and jets. Queen B held off a gulp, not wanting to show this was scaring her. Black Manta stood up, glaring down at them all dangerously.

**"Hand over the idiot, and I'll let you live, children."** he told them sharply.

Queen B snorted.

"Sorry, but no one's dying today" she told him, sending out her spinning top, hooking it around one of his arms.

She tried to pull him down, only for Manta to pull her forward and punch her in the gut, sending her right onto the ground, but Carapace quickly followed up by throwing his shield into Manta's face, knocking him back a bit. Recalling his shield as he helped Queen B up, he looked to the security guard and pointed down the small path that led to the street.

"Go that way, we'll catch up!" he ordered.

The security guard could only look at him worriedly before sighing, knowing that protecting Brian was important. She took the politician down the path, all the while thinking to herself.

_If Manta is here, he must've taken down Conner and Bart. This is getting out of hand..._ she thought as she took Brian to safety.

Manta had recovered from the strike to his face and snarled at the two superheroes, who stood where they were.

**"I gave you a chance and you refused to take it! You will burn!"** he snapped, firing a blast from his optics at the two, but they sidestepped out the way.

Queen B followed up by sending her spinning top out, hooking it around his ankle and pulled on him, bringing him down to his back and causing him to blast down a piece of the wall, which fell right on top of him. Carapace pulled Queen B aside into the path, looking to where Brian was going.

"That should slow him down, let's go!" he told her, following after the politician and his guards, though Queen B looked back and saw a red beam tear through the debris, telling him it wouldn't slow him down for long.

* * *

In Master Fu's, Stephanie looked very worried as she kept pressing on her comm.

"I can't get through to Conner and Bart...Manta couldn't have killed them, could he?" she asked worriedly, looking to Tim and Kaldur for answers.

"I doubt it. He doesn't have the weapons to kill the, both. I'm hoping he's only knocked them out." Kaldur replied, his voice very serious and not sounding light about what he said. Tim looked nervous though, so he turned to Master Fu.

"We might have to go out and help if it comes to it. Any ideas on what we can do?" he asked the old man, who looked thoughtful.

"If it does come to it, I can use the a Butterfly Miraculous to akumatise you all, so no one will recognise you and give you an advantage. Still, from what I can see, the fight is so far contained. Contact Bunnyx and get her to teleport Brian somewhere they can't find him." he advised.

Tim took this in and sighed, as he was really wanting to go out and help, but he had to trust in his new friends. He pressed on his comm, carrying out what Master Fu told him.

* * *

Bunnyx had finished putting the last person through the portal, leaving the once occupied area now empty and leaving enough room for her friends to fight. Her comm then beeped, answering it as soon she heard it go off.

"This is Bunnyx, who is this?" she asked.

"Its me, Robin. I need you to get to Brian Beaumont and teleport him somewhere safe, it'll throw Black Manta off his trail. Look to your map and you'll see where they are." he instructed her, his voice not sounding as light as it usually was.

Bunnyx nodded and opened up the map, seeing the symbols of Carapace and Queen B were not far from her own. She guessed where they were, and knew how to get there faster. Drawing a rune, she disappeared into a portal, which closed as Rena threw one ninja to where the rabbit styled hero was just standing, though one ninja down wasn't enough for Rena, as she was kicked in the back by one of the ninjas, sending her sprawling onto her back. They went to stab her, but she quickly spun her flute around, creating a protective spinning shield that made the ninjas circle back as they feared they'd get knocked down by it.

Getting back to her feet, Rena sighed but gritted her teeth, seeing they were all coming at her.

"Okay, remember Nora's moves" she said to herself.

She allowed them to come closer, looking around to see which each ninja was going to strike first. The fox styled girl saw them all pull their swords back, making her twist her arm around, watching their moves. She gasped as they all leapt at her, trying to cut her with their swords. Instead, though, she crouched down and raised her flute in a defensive manner, blocking all their incoming swipes. She kicked one of her legs out and caught one of their shins, bringing one of them down and allowing her to slide out, swiftly twirling her flute around and whacking one of the ninjas on the head before striking another in the stomach with her flute as he turned to her. The last one grabbed her from behind, but she stomped on his foot, getting free from his grip and kicked him down. Rena circled around them as they all gotten back to their feet, ready to fight them again.

Back with Carapace and Queen B, they were retreating towards another alleyway with Brian, only to see the red streaks of jet engines flying through the air towards them. Carapace took his shield up and spun it around, creating a swirling green glow as Black Manta fired on them, the red energy beams hitting hard against his shield that it sent Carapace tearing across the ground and his feet digging into the concrete, leaving a trail behind. He could only whistle at seeing what was made when the firing stopped.

"Whoa...rad and burn!" he said in amazement, only for his mind to get back to what was going on around him.

Black Manta landed and was now fighting Queen B, who used her spinning top to whack him a few times, which he countered with his arm blades, whacking it away like he was batting balls coming at him. Queen B could see this wasn't slowing him down, so she sent her top in between his legs and planted it on the ground, before pulling hard and tore the ground up, forming a wall of concrete that came down onto Black Manta, who simply turned around and destroyed the top off with his optic beams, before turning back to block an incoming blow from Carapace, pushing his shield down and kicking him in the stomach, sending him onto his back.

Just as Black Manta tried to stab Queen B, he was blinded by the glow of a blue light. Bunnyx came through a portal and grabbed Brian, opening another portal.

"Get through, c'mon!" she told him, pushing him through with his security guard. Carapace gave her a smile, glad she came to help. She returned the smile as she disappeared into the portal, ready to help settle down Brian.

Queen B took advantage of Black Manta's moment of confusion, taking her spinning top in her hand and looked at him.

"VENOM!" she yelled, her top forming around her hand and getting pointy.

She eyed his exposure point and stabbed him in the arm, her stinger penetrating through his softer clothing. Manta cried out and gasped, feeling his limbs go stiff from his arm and all the way down to his body, leaving him standing there like a statue. Carapace whistled as he stood next to Queen B, pointing a finger at her.

"Now that was the best kind of timing. He's going to jail now." he said gladly,

However, Manta managed to speak stiffly.

**"You...might've stopped my body...but not my technology."** he responded.

Before they could respond, both Carapace and Queen B gasped as his optics fired hard, so hard it sent them crashing through several walls of different buildings, crying out at the heat of the energy as it ate away at their suits. It sent them flying right back to the now near empty podium, leaving them in a heap on a slump of rocks. The firing stopped, red smoke rose off their bodies, leaving a trail of debris in their wake. They both groaned in pain, their bodies aching from the speed they went and the heat from the attack.

Ladybug and Chat Noir were briefly distracted by this and were shocked by the state of their friends, seeing they were now darkened by the firing. This gave Shiva and Kagami a chance to attack them, Shiva roundhouse kicking Chat Noir off the podium and onto the ground while Kagami slashed across Ladybug's stomach and shoved her off the podium, making her cry out in agony. Their upper hands were lowered though, as Chat Noir extended his baton to a longer length, blocking the incoming attacks from both Asian women on him and his girlfriend, before following up with slashing Shiva across the leg with one of his claws, making her cry out in pain, following up with whacking Kagami with his baton, sending them both back a bit, now giving time for Ladybug to stand up, the slash on her stomach healing up. She sighed and looked to see Carapace just picking himself up, while Rena was starting to get weary of the ninjas, only managing to block their attacks. She looked to her feline boyfriend.

"It's getting too much. Time for plan B." she said as she stood back, turning her Ladyblades back into a yo-yo.

Chat Noir nodded, seeing what she was going to do, so he stood in front of her, facing off against Kagami and Shiva alone. He kept his staff at a longer length, running at them while they did the same. Chat raised his staff, making them think he was going to try and whack one of them with it, but the closer he got, he caught them by shock as he then took his baton down and stretched it out in a landscape position, slamming it into them and taking them off their feet, driving them into the wall behind them and pinning them there.

As this happened, Ladybug swung her yo-yo up in the air.

"LUCKY CHARM!" she yelled, watching as her yo-yo exploded into its familiar bright colours and produced the item in question.

It dropped into her hands and saw it was a pair of handcuffs in the colour of her.

"Handcuffs? Hold on..." her Ladybug Vision kicked in, highlighting the handcuffs, then she looked to Rena Rouge, who was highlighted, then she looked at a photo of Brian Beaumont and then Carapace. An idea clicked into her head.

"Thats it!" she said, clutching hold of the handcuffs as she gotten her yo-yo out, running towards Rena Rouge, who was blocking a collective lot of swords with her flute. Ladybug leapt in, swinging her yo-yo out and snatching the ninjas up with it, pulling them together and tossed them into a nearby open van, the doors shutting from the impact. Pulling her yo-yo back, she helped Rena Rouge up.

"Thanks for that, they nearly took me down a few times" she said thankfully to Ladybug, who smiled.

"Glad you're okay. Listen, I've got a plan, but you'll need to hear it out." she told the fox styled superhero, who nodded, eager to hear what she needed to say.

Chat Noir was struggling to keep the pressure on Shiva and Kagami for much longer, something the former noticed.

"So young, yet so low on energy" she taunted as she tossed her knife out at him, embedding it in his shoulder, making him wince in pain as he pulled back, freeing them from his hold.

He responded by pulling the knife out of his shoulder, quickly ducking a slash from Kagami's two blades, lowering his baton to block another attack from her, only for Shiva to kick him in the side, knocking him over. He flipped back to his feet to avoid getting stabbed her, pushing her away with his baton and countering Kagami's attacks with it, twirling his baton around to form a spinning shield to push against Kagami, driving her from him.

As this happened, Ladybug and Rena Rouge reached Carapace, who was trying to help Queen B up, their wounds healing from when they were shot by Black Manta. Rena Rouge sniffed her boyfriend and gasped.

"Oh crap...smells like he really burnt you, babe. I'm sorry." she said to him, only for him to wave a defensive hand.

"I'm fine. It's Queen B I'm worried about, she used her power and she's not waking up..." he said worriedly, only to get a groan from her.

"That's because I'm only just waking up...what happened?" she asked as she stood up, resting her hand on the back of her neck.

"Black Manta zapped us both. You used your superpower, so you'll need to hide somewhere to recharge." Carapace told her, only for Ladybug to shake her head.

"No, she needs to go to the hotel and heal up. This is getting wrapped up soon, so get yourself out of here, Queen B." she told the Italian girl, who looked unsure.

"You sure about that?" she asked the blue haired superhero, who nodded.

"Yes. Get yourself out of here and stay safe." she told her, making Queen B sigh.

"Okay, see you at the hotel" she said, quickly running from the battlefield to de-power. Ladybug turned to Carapace.

"Now, you need to get ready for what we're about to do. Here's what will happen." she told him, telling him her plan.

Back in the alleyway, Superboy groaned as he pulled himself out of the crater, pushing the debris off of him. He was not happy, for now Black Manta had gotten away and buried Impulse under some rubble like he did with him. But just as he stood up, he was greeted by none other than the speedster, who whistled as he smoothed the dust off his t-shirt.

"Ohhhhhh man, for once, it's not ripped or torn. No need to buy another one." he said jokingly, making Superboy sigh.

"Impulse, this isn't the time to joke, we've got to help the others." he said, turning to run from the alleyway, only for Impulse to run in front of him.

"No need, we've been told to go back to the hotel. Tim says everything's been getting covered now and will be taken care of soon. Let's get going." he said, leaving Conner confused.

"What? But what about the Light? You mean they've been beaten?" he asked as Impulse quickly led him to the end of the alleyway.

"Not yet, but from what Tim is seeing, they'll get their butts handed to them soon. C'mon!" he said, leading him away.

Chat Noir was still putting up quite a fight against Kagami and Shiva, who now only had one knife but was making use of it, trying to jab him whenever he got into a lock with Kagami, making him move constantly as he tried to block their attacks. It was hard, but he was not backing from this fight, he was keeping them as busy as he could. Kagami tried to cut him from below, but he blocked both her blades with his baton. He saw Shiva coming to him with her knife, so reached out and caught her wrist, twisting it down and shot his foot into her chest, sending her flying back a bit before whacking Kagami in the chest with his baton, stepping back to put distance between himself and them.

However, his ears picked up on the sound of jet engines, making him look up to see Black Manta flying at him. The armoured man snatched the feline by his tail and tossed him onto the ground, making him sprawl across towards Ladybug, who was now on her knees with Rena Rouge, their hands behind their backs and looking glum. Chat Noir frowned, not getting what was going on.

"M'Lady?" he asked. He looked around her to see the four ninjas were around them, with Brian Beaumont in front of them, his hands behind his back. He looked at his crime fighting girlfriend in shock, his eyes looking at her for answers.

"Wha? You're surrendering?" he whispered as Shiva, Kagami and Manta approached them. Ladybug, though, looked at him with a small smile, her eyes twinkling.

"We're not surrendering. They will, though." she whispered as they looked up to see their enemies standing in front of them.

Shiva looked at Manta with a thoughtful look, seeing the state he was in.

"You were gone for a while, care to explain?" she asked sharply.

**"Had a run in with a few individuals. And briefly paralysed."** he said in a frustrated voice, clearly not happy with how his fights had turned out, though he ended up smiling under his helmet as he looked at what was going on in front of him.

**"This will make up for it though. Clearly your ninjas are very resourceful, Shiva, they managed to ambush one of their new friends and got Beaumont back."** he said gladly, getting a nod from her.

"Yes, and the heroes of this city with them. For being super powered, they gaveup very easily. They are children at the end of the day though." she said coldly as she walked to the surrendered heroes.

**"Yes. I'd like to keep them alive though, see if they can get destroyed just as easily as the other two I shot."** Black Manta replied as he joined her side.

Ladybug gave them a glare as they walked past, though Kagami's eyes were filled with more sympathy as she walked to Brian.

"You should know fighting us is pointless, Ladybug. We just aim to make things better, better than what you're doing at least." she softly told the blue haired hero, who frowned as she heard her voice.

"Really? You actually believe that? How old are you? You sound young enough to get easily brainwashed by these monsters." she hit back at the armoured girl, who glared at her.

"They didn't brainwash me, they showed me the truth. Just as they'll show you." she said, trying to hide the nervousness in her voice as Shiva gave her a glare.

"Now that we are done talking, let us finish what we came here to do. Two of you bring him here, the others, keep an eye on these three." Shiva instructed the ninjas, who nodded as they pushed Brian out to Shiva, Manta and Kagami.

It was then Chat Noir saw the ladybug like handcuffs on Brian's wrists, making him grin. He now knew what his girlfriend had done, and he was going to look forward to what was coming next.

Kagami looked nervous as she watched Black Manta's optics begin to heat up, really unsettled at getting to see someone melt from his lasers, but she would have to watch it otherwise Shiva would punish her. Shiva looked to Ladybug with her eyes as sharp as knives, trying to stab her soul as they looked at each other.

"Any last words to say to this man before he dies?" She asked, wanting to hear the hero beg.

However, Ladybug just smirked.

"Yeah, I have: shields up!" she yelled. Shiva frowned in confusion, as did Kagami. A few seconds went by and suddenly, Carapace appeared from behind pieces of debris, landing beside the Light members and slammed his shield down.

"SHELL-TER!" he yelled, letting his power do its work. Instead of it forming a shield around him, though, it instead shielded Shiva, Manta, Kagami and Brian, trapping them inside.

The trapped Light members looked around in confusion, not liking how this turned out. Manta, however, tried to get one step from them, his optics glowing.

**"You trapped him in here with us, he'll still die!"** he yelled, looking at Brian, only to freeze as he suddenly turned into orange smoke, along with the four ninjas, the ladybug like handcuffs dropping to the ground. Rena Rouge smirked at him as she stood up.

"No he ain't. He's safe and sound." she told him as they all surrounded the shield, with Chat Noir patting Carapace's back.

"That was slick, pal! Glad to see you're alight!" he praised the turtle styled hero, who grinned.

"Proud to put this baby to use, my dude! Wonder if Aquaman will give me a pat on the back too for catching bucket man?" he wondered, watching as Manta's fists curled up.

Police sirens echoed around them, with lights taking up the area. Roger came out with several armed police officers, all of them aiming their guns at the shield. He looked to Ladybug and Chat Noir, giving them a smile.

"You two did it again. Thank you for stopping them. And a special thanks to these two for helping." he said gladly as he looked to Carapace and Rena Rouge, both of whom smiled back at him.

Shiva, however, glared at them.

"You think you've beaten us? Think again: Manta!" she yelled.

The armoured man nodded, looking down at the ground and fired his optics in a circular movement, getting a horrified gasp from the heroes as grey smoke filled the shield from the beams, with several loud crunches of concrete collapsing. Ladybug looked to Carapace.

"Recall your shield, now!" she ordered. Carapace quickly put his should on the ground and banged it twice, causing the shield to disintegrate, but as he did so, the whole ground gotten shaky, as if a earthquake occurred.

Once the smoke cleared, they got a look. In their sights, they saw the ground inside the shield disappeared, taking the villains with it down into the catacombs. Ladybug saw the handcuffs at the bottom, so she swung down there and picked them up, quickly returning to the surface.

She looked down the hole, her mouth hung open in shock and disbelief at what just happened. Her chest tightened and her fists curled up, really angered by the villains' getaway.

"I can't believe this...we had them right there! Ugh!" she groaned, sinking her face into her hands with her body slumping slightly. Her boyfriend, however, took her arms from behind and allowed her to sink back into his body, allowing him to give a whisper to her ear.

"We managed to save Brian, M'Lady, and they can't have gone too far. We'll find them." he assured her, his words helping release the tension in her chest. She could only nod, looking up to him.

"You're right. We just have to get down there and go after them." she said, seeing it wasn't as glum as she thought it was.

However, Roger stepped forward, his face sharp.

"Leave that to us. You've used your Lucky Charm, so you'll need to recharge. And you'll need to undo the damage." he instructed the superhero, who looked stunned.

"But...if I undo the damage, you might lose track of them." she warned, only for Roger to smile.

"Don't worry, we've got experts who know the entrances. Armed officers will swoop in and try to find them. You go rest now, you've done the best you could. And you did save a politician." he reminded.

Ladybug sighed as her earrings bleeped, as did Carapace's wristband and Rena's necklace.

"You're right. Let us know if you find anything, Roger. Also, there's some snipers on that roof over there and some ninjas I tossed into a van, arrest them when you get to them." she told him, getting a nod from the officer, who stood back to let her do her work. Ladybug threw the handcuffs in the air, but this time her order was less cheerful and more angry.

"MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!"

The pink energy swept across the whole area of where the fights took place, undoing all the destruction that had happened, turning everything back to normal. Including the car of Audrey Bourgeoise, who was still hiding behind a bin.

Ladybug looked grim as she turned around, leaving Rena Rouge looking nervous at the way she was behaving.

"Gosh she's taking it hard...she's gonna need some cheering up after this." she said in a sympathetic tone as a portal opened up, with Bunnyx, Brian, and his security guards walking through, taking in the area around them. Brian snorted.

"Well...at least the damage has been taken care of, and the people can return to hear me ou.t" he said to himself as he looked to Ladybug, who looked at him with a harder face. He put on a bitter smile, reaching his hand out.

"I can at least thank you for saving my life. This might help me change my ideas a little for my campaign." he said, his thick accented voice showing a tiny amount of gratefulness to the hero, who looked stunned at this. Staring at him in utter confusion for a second, Ladybug reached her hand out and shook his, smiling just a tiny amount.

"Just doing what we do. Take care of yourself, sir." she said to him, pulling her hand away when she finished.

Brian smiled oddly, as if he had found this really funny in some way. He decided not to say anything though, choosing to stand back and watch Ladybug walked towards another portal Bunnyx made, with the rest of her friends following through with them. Once they disappeared into the portal and it faded, he looked to Roger with his face more sharper.

"I hope you find those attackers. If you do, put their faces on the TV as they're being arrested, make them feel humiliated." he ordered, getting a nod from the officer.

"Understood, sir." he replied, turning to give his men the orders to find the escaped attackers and capture those that were unconscious.

As Brian made his way back to the podium, his female security guard followed after him.

"I hope you thank them when the cameras start rolling, sir. We'd be dead if they didn't step in." she told him sharply. Brian nodded with a raised finger.

"I will, my dear. I told Ladybug I'd make some changes to my ideas, which I think she might like, though I do hope she comes forward about these new friends of hers. It's something we all need to know about with these newcomers." he said as he walked on from her, the woman glaring at him.

"Yeah, we all need to know about newcomers." she whispered to herself as she walked behind several cars, no one seeing her turning invisible to get back to the meeting point. If anything, though, M'Gann could gladly say that she was pleased with what she saw today despite how hollow the outcome was.

* * *

At the Hotel Le Louis in their room, the two superheroes teams had regrouped, with Tim, Kaldur, Stephanie and Master Fu just arriving, finding Alya and Nino resting on the bed together with their Kwamis sat on top of them, talking to each other. Lila was slumped in a chair, clearly tired from the fight she just had, with Pollen smoothing her cheek to cheer her up, while Alix was sat with Conner and Bart, talking with them over what they went through.

"Um, where's Ladybug and Chat Noir? Thought they were here?" Tim asked, noticing the two lovebirds weren't there.

"She's just in the bathroom with Chat Noir, recharging. She's not really happy." Alix told him, her voice full of warning for him. Master Fu looked sad to hear that, looking to the bathroom door in worry.

Inside, Marinette had finished feeding Tikki so she could turn back into Ladybug, yet she didn't feel so energised from the transformation, instead just leaning over the sink with a sad look on her face. Chat Noir stood next to her, wrapping an arm around his girlfriend to give her that support she needed. He gave her a smile that she caught sight of, making her blush as it was one of those smiles that was full of so much charm and utter love. It didn't stop her from sounding sad though.

"It's just we had them...we could've ended this today, but we failed to get hold of them. Now they'll be planning another move." she groaned, not liking the unknown of what the Light might try and do next.

Chat Noir just smiled more and turned her face to him, his eyes looking into hers much more deeper than usual, like he was talking to her heart.

"This isn't the first time we've had something like this. Hawk Moth, Joker, Darkseid. This isn't any different. What I take from today is this: no one died this time, and it's something I'm glad for. And everyone else did great today, too. That's something we've got to feel glad for." he told his girlfriend in a tone that made her heart glow, making her smile at him more.

"Yeah...you know I'm glad to have a boyfriend like you, you know that?" Ladybug asked, her voice rising in showing her appreciation for him. He nodded, taking her body into his so she could rest her head against his chest, smelling her hair as she let out another sigh against him.

"You know I know it. C'mon, M'Lady, we were always stronger than this. And now we're really stronger with them, today is proof of that." he told her, giving her time to look up at him as her hands took his back while his rested right on her hips.

"You're right. They did great, and we saved everyone. And the Light now know we aren't going down without a fight and we might've set their plans back. I really needed this, my handsome kitty." she said in a thankful tone. He could only smile as he gave her lips a little pluck, something that made her body shiver in pleasure at feeling.

They parted their bodies from each other and smiled, now feeling ready to face everyone in the other room. They opened the door and found everyone waiting for them, all of them looking unsure what to say to them both. Alya sat up and took on the smile of Ladybug, though she felt nervous to see it, feeling it was just for show. With her being her, Alya looked down and spoke.

"Ladybug, you don't have to hide your disappointment. We messed up, especially us." she said glumly, only for Ladybug to sigh more lightly, walking to her best friend and sitting with her, patting her back.

"Alya, I'm not disappointed, especially not in you. You held off those ninjas by yourself really well, you didn't get scared when we faced those guys, and most importantly, you did great. I was just angry they got away, but my boyfriend has a good voice of reason. Don't go beating yourself up, like what I just did." she told the Martiquean girl, who looked stunned at first but ended up smiling, seeing her hero was being genuine.

"If anything, you all did really well today. You communicated well in your first fight against the Light and put the lives of others first and not treating this as a game. It's something I'm quite proud of." Kaldur told them all, his face lighter with it's expression, showing he wasn't hiding how he felt.

"And you guys manage to beat down some of their foot soldiers and got them arrested, something we'll be sure to look into when we get time." Stephanie added, giving Alix a smile that made her go shy.

"Well, it was scary, facing those guys with their guns, but I'm glad they'll be put behind bars. They didn't kill anyone, something I made sure didn't happen." she replied, letting it all settle in, getting a wink from Bart.

"Yeah, bet you felt hot while doing that." he whispered, getting a blush from Alix.

"And I actually did something a proper hero would do, that was something." Lila said, feeling upbeat by the rising amount of pride in everyone.

"And you managed to save Brian, so he could go on with his speech." M'gann then said as she walked through the door, catching everyone's attention.

"It seems he's gonna get softer with his choice of words, though he will want to know about the new heroes." she added, looking to Ladybug as a warning for her on what she might have to say if she were to face the press again. It was then Conner stood up, looking to his girlfriend.

"About Brian, did you notice anything strange about him? When I used my x-ray vision on him, I couldn't really tell anything from him, it was all weird." he asked her, getting all kinds of interested looks from everyone.

"Yeah. While I was with him, I tried to read his mind as we were running from Black Manta. All I got was electronic scrambling, like that of a radio of some kind." she told him, making everyone frown.

"You saying they dude could have cybernetics? Don't know if that's cool or creepy" Nino said, his voice sounding unsure of what to make of that.

"It could be that he had implants put in following on from that attack back when he was younger." Wayzz reminded him, though Master Fu looked unsure.

"Not with a electronic scrambler. If he is a cyborg, he could have a deadly access to things the government might not be willing to share with others, or to the public." he stated, getting an interested look from Tim.

"Probably an opportunity to blackmail his way through power...still, it's something worth looking into, something I think M'gann could do." he suggested to the Martian, who nodded at him.

"Today was just one attack though. Whether Brian is dirty or not, the Light will try to kill him another time and his opponent. The Light now know there's more of you and know we are here. They won't run away, they'll try different tactics for the next attack, which will come when Armand has his campaign begin." Kaldur reminded everyone, getting a nod from Chat Noir.

"Yeah. I think he's gonna hold his outside the school, given he works there and will want to sway the kids there." he told them all, getting a groan from Lila.

"Guess my parents might go there and try to argue with him...still, if it means protecting my friends, I'll be there, ready for them." she said, her voice getting sharp as she stood up with Nino, Alya and Alix, their Kwamis floating around them. Ladybug smiled at them.

"I know you will. After what you did today, I know you'll be up for the next attack. You did great, guys. I can say it'll be an honour to continue working with you." she said, sending her fist out to them.

They all connected theirs with hers and her boyfriend's, giving everyone in the room a sense of optimism, while Master Fu just looked on proudly. He chosen Ladybug really well, and to see her standing proud with her new team reached his heart. This was something he was gonna remember for years. For the world now saw a new age of Miraculous heroes, heroes that would stay this time.

* * *

_**The Light's plans have been temporarily set back and Ladybug and Cat Noir's new recruits have proven themselves worthy by setting a great first example as new heroes! But key word is that the Light's plans have only been TEMPORARILY set back. They'll be back, and they'll be MAD! Will our heroes survive a next attack from them? Find out next time...**_

_**VERY special thanks to my co-writer, Reece Wooldridge for writing the majority of this chapter as I was too busy with a college project to contribute much. This story's existence is owed as much to him as me after all. :)**_


	10. Chapter 9: The Light Strikes Back

_Chapter 9: The Light Strikes Back_

The air was cold despite the heating they had set up in their base. Whether it was because a bit of the chilly air seeped through the gaps that gave them that unsettling feel of coldness, or the narrowed, old eyes of Vandal Savage staring into their very souls, they wouldn't deny it made them feel very nervous. Didn't help he had Queen Bee, Harvest, and Psimon by his sides too. Kagami was just thankful he wasn't staring at her, for it was just Shiva and Manta he was looking at, his hands behind his back, which was lined straight and his shoulders out at full length, showing who was the one in charge and who was gonna talk first. She had to wonder what he was feeling, because by the looks of his face, it was hard to tell. She needed to know that while getting training with Shiva.

He then spoke, his voice as low as the surface of ice as he talked in a calm tone.

"That clearly did not go well. Not only were you ambushed by your son's team, Manta, but you ended up facing a new set of heroes. Heroes that I was hoping we would've known of. Even then, they were children. Children you clearly could've taken down, either by yourself or by Shiva. But they not only tricked you both, they managed to arrest some of our soldiers. Care to explain to me why?" Vandal asked, his voice holding down any anger he might've held towards them.

Shiva could see Manta's lips were pursed, unable to express his own bitterness on how the mission went. She knew too often he would lose his words if he tried to tell Vandal, so she spoke up, her voice calm and showing no hint of fear over the immortal caveman standing in front of her.

"As you said, sir, we were ambushed. For how they bested us, I do not know. They were good on the defensive, but were not as strong as their leaders. The tricks they pulled, though, were frustrating. I'm still shocked one of them managed to stop Manta for a time." she explained to him.

She tried not to move her face to show it's slight nervousness at Vandal's face, seeing his narrowed eyebrows at her words.

"Even then, that doesn't excuse the fact that your target lived, protected by several of the newcomers." he pointed out, his disappointment clear now.

Queen Bee stepped forward, her eyes cold but her voice holding a different message of how she saw this.

"You were meant to set an example to the Parisians, yet you failed. They believe in their heroes more than ever now, to the point where Brian's had to change his plans, not only to stay in everyone's good books, but theirs too. Not to mention we now have to worry about outside help in the form of those led by Manta's son." she stated, her eyes now going over Manta, who glared at her. Ruler or not, he was not going to get talked down by her.

"Might I remind you, Queen Bee, that Psimon clearly failed in his task of destroying everything in his computer. While we failed at killing Beaumont, this plan of taking Paris has fallen apart because that bastard failed to destroy the evidence, isn't that right, Psimon!?" he yelled, his eyes full of anger as he turned to the white skinned telepath, who gritted his teeth.

"I see no point in blaming each other, Manta. Yes, I failed, but I know we can recover from this. This mission can't fall apart now that we're this far, and I'm certain Vandal has the best of a counter plan now that those children are involved, like he always does." he reminded, turning to Vandal, who simply raised his hand to look as if he was blocking that question.

"That I'm keen to discuss. Still, the matter now is finding out who these new heroes are, how they came around and where they could be based." he pointed out, turning his attention to that for a matter.

"I'm guessing by their size and interactions, they are teenagers. They clearly fight well but don't coordinate well on their own, so they have to get guidance from those friend's of my son's. They get along well enough with Ladybug and Chat Noir to work with them normally and talk to them. They could likely be friends of theirs in their normal lives." Manta gave him his offering.

Kagami then stepped up, wanting to put her words out too.

"Yes. I can't help but think that these new recruits could be friends of theirs, especially with how easy going they were with each other. Can't help but feel I recognised some of their voices, especially the one like a fox." she told them, getting an interested look from Vandal.

"Is that so? From your earlier recon missions around Paris, I guess?" he asked sharply, wanting to press in to see if she was going somewhere.

Kagami pursed her lips for a few seconds, knowing what they were both going to in their talk. She just wasn't sure if she was ready to give out a definite answer...but she knew there was no stalling when it came to talking with him.

"I think it's possible. We can only be sure if we were to properly investigate, given there are lots of teenagers who like the heroes of this city." Kagami replied, trying to give him a more informative answer as for all she knew, the kids she saw at the bridge with Marinette might just turn out as completely innocent. Vandal nodded in agreement.

"Indeed. Paris is a large city after all, they could come from a different part of the entire capital. Still, we can investigate when it comes to the next campaign conference, for it will be held at Collège Françoise Dupont. Lots of students will be there, and if I'm right, many children from that school were akumatized, so the two heroes must at least be associated with those who go to that college. Could be that some of the students there felt the urge to do something in return for them." he said, getting a smile off of Psimon as he walked up to him.

"If that's what we are guessing, allow me to go there. I can easily blend in and my mind can stretch to many others, and it'll be useful for the attack I aim to use." he suggested to Vandal, who eyed him with interest.

"Is this your way of trying to make up for the failure in Africa?" He asked with a slight taunting tone, making Psimon hold back a sigh, though it didn't stop him from nodding with a groan.

"Yes".

Vandal smirked, glad to remind Psimon of what this was about. Harvest hissed, though, glaring at Psimon, his breath like a stench of acid that made him trying not to cringe.

**"If he is going, then I desire so too. So many souls of children to take, probably hundreds in there for the picking."** he said more to Vandal, who smiled.

"Heh, patience, my dear old friend. If this goes according to plan, you won't have to go there, they will come to you." he assured, watching on as the teeth baring creature gave off another hiss at Psimon, who cringed at the very look he received.

Queen Bee walked up, her face serious as she brought another problem up.

"There's still the captured soldiers of ours. They might tell the authorities of us and where we are hiding." she reminded Vandal, who turned to her with a clever looking smile.

"Oh I already thought of that. They will need to get removed permanently, and who better to persuade them in doing so than the woman with such a powerful tool in her voice?" he reminded the ruler, who looked stunned for a second but then smiled, realising where he was getting at.

"Of course..." Queen Bee purred, her voice like poisoned honey, "I'll get down to it immediately Vandal."

Having understood his implications, Queen Bee left the room to carry out her part in keeping the Light undiscovered for a little longer. Kagami watched her leave with an uneasy feeling in her stomach. Whatever was going on, it didn't seem good for the imprisoned ninjas.

"What's she doing master?" she asked Shiva, who was still looking as stone-faced as ever, "And what did Vandal mean by "powerful tool in her voice"?"

"The answer is right there child. Figure it out." Shiva snapped impatiently. She wasn't going to waste any time explaining to her student about Queen Bee's powers of persuasion. She'd only think she was pulling her leg.

Kagami said nothing more. At times, she wished Shiva would just give her a straight answer instead of being rude and vague to her like that. Instead, she decided to ponder over something else: the group of kids she'd eavesdropped on earlier this week. If any of them were the Miraculers who helped Ladybug and Cat Noir stop the Light today, then where did they get their powers from? Where Ladybug and Cat Noir any of those kids too? If so, then who? She thought back to the blue-haired girl whom she was sure she was related to and the blonde-haired boy, the disgraced Adrien Agreste. Could any of them be France's heroes? She shook her head. No! That was impossible! How could two ordinary teens like them be heroes? Then again, most superheroes looked very ordinary in their civilian lives so who was to say Ladybug and Cat Noir were just as good at deception? If the Light ever captured the Miraculers, Kagami swore that she would uncover their true identities. The more she thought about it, the more she desired to find out...

* * *

"Wake up, wake up little cub! You don't wanna oversleep!"

Alya stirred out of her slumber at the sound of Trixx's voice squeaking in her ear as the little fox Kwami tugged on her hair. The Martiquen girl had never felt so unwilling to wake up in her life. She reluctantly turned over on to her back, stretched and yawned as her eyes opened and she slowly woke up. How was it she'd slept heavily that night and yet she still felt like she needed to sleep some more? Had she known superhero life would be this exhausting, she would've said no to the gift of a Miraculous upon being given one! Alya sat up and brushed some of her hair out of her eyes, making a mental note to get it brushed first thing before doing anything else this morning. It had only been her first day doing actual superhero work and yet her muscles ached as if she'd run a marathon and hadn't stopped to rest once. Despite how worn out she felt, Alya couldn't help but feel that it had been worth it. How awesome it had been to be fighting real bad guys with her heroes and getting to be an actual superhero herself! She couldn't get the image of everyone's happy faces at her and her friend's heroics yesterday. It had been in her dreams throughout the night and she had a feeling it'd be in many more dreams to come. Yes, life as Rena Rouge was proving to be as exciting as Alya could've hoped, though she wondered if she'd get used to the complete exhaustion she was feeling now. How did Ladybug and Cat Noir cope with this, if they ever did?

"You're my guardian and the one who bestows powers on me, now I guess you're my alarm clock too." Alya mumbled as she rubbed her eyes.

"I guess someone has to wake you up if you're gonna oversleep like that." Trixx said cheekily, "How are you my little cub?"

"Achy." Alya muttered, massaging her shoulders tenderly, "I suppose I'm gonna have to get used to that from now on."

"All Miraculers are gonna have to." Trixx said bluntly, "Superhero work isn't a tireless affair after all. It'll be exhausting, both mentally and physically, but you get used to it after a while. My previous holders always did."

"And same for all the other Kwami no doubt." Alya added.

"Absolutely." Trixx replied, "Though I really hope being Rena Rouge isn't gonna feel...too much for you, if you know what I mean." he added, his purple eyes looking solemn as he looked down at his feet.

"You're worried this'll be too much for me." Alya confirmed, knowing exactly what her Kwami meant.

He nodded glumly, plopping himself on her knee, looking down slightly as his eyes looked away slightly.

"I'm afraid I am. Don't get me wrong, lil' darling, you were amazing yesterday, but if it's too much for you, I do understand if you feel like you're not cut out for this." he said to his human owner, who sighed but smiled as she smoothed his little head, her heart warming at his words. She couldn't help but giggle when his ears flickered, his eyes narrowing in delight at the trailing finger on his ears, making her smile even more.

"Oh you silly little fox, don't start giving me that. Honestly, yes, it was a little more than what I was expecting. I should've known after a while with all the Akuma attacks, but like Nino said when we were selected, I'm doing this because Ladybug and Chat Noir did so much for us. If they started similar to us, and could get to where they are now, then I'm not backing away. No matter how tiring and no matter how much time I'll miss on the Ladyblog, helping Ladybug and protecting my friends and family mean a lot to me. So don't give me the whole "if you ain't up for it, girl, give it up" garbage. I'm with you and them on this, whether you like it or not." she smartly told him, her eyes looking more awake than she was a little earlier.

Trixx couldn't help but smile. That tone she held was full of strength and wisdom, something he thought was lost long ago and used as a foolish trick in today's day and age. Seeing her eyes light up as she talked back at him certainly sent a beam of light into his heart, making him giggle as gently cupped her nose with his little arms.

"Oh my little cub, you're gonna be a tough one. Sorry if I was trying to put you off, I just wanted to be sure. Natural instincts kick in for me, especially with how long I've been around for. I'd just hate to lose another baby." he admitted, his voice slightly lower as he finished his sentence.

Alya's eyes went soft as she scooped him up in her arms, smoothing his head again, her heart going out for him.

"That's why I've got friends to watch my back. My boy is there for me, and so's Ladybug and Chat Noir. You ain't losing me, I can tell you that." she assured, her voice comforting and on the point of utter sweetness, as if she was on the verge of ushering her baby's cries.

Trixx beamed and nuzzled her palms, seeing there was so much wisdom in such a young girl like her. He could see why Ladybug chosen her, it was no wonder now. He had to say, for the first time centuries, it was great to find someone as strong to take on him.

While Alya continued to smooth him, her phone beeped, telling her she got another message. She reached one hand over and picked it up, seeing it was a automatic message from the Ladyblog. Swiping it open, she saw it was a video sent to her by Juleka, of Brian Beaumont's conference, at least a key piece of it. Trixx floated beside her and smirked.

"Let's way if he's oh so grateful now, hmm?" he said teasingly, tapping their play button, only to get a waving finger from Alya.

"Heh, careful, last time someone else used my phone, a video got deleted." she warned as the video started playing, not seeing the twinkle in Trixx's eyes, as he knew too well who she was talking about. The video played the key moments.

"I will have to say, as much as I don't approve of Ladybug and Chat Noir, I will gladly thank them for saving my life, for if it wasn't for them and their new friends, I wouldn't be standing here talking to you all right now. In my gratitude, I have chosen to change things up in my plans. I aim to open a registration agreement, to have them work for me and the French government. Better information, better communication, saving the people in a better way. And of course, this extends to their new friends, who's names we failed to get. This will only be put out when I get put into office, obviously."

The video finished, with Alya reading Juleka's message under this video.

"Registration could mean anything, it could mean a government enforcement of getting them to share everything, including their identities. They could even restrict them from helping like they used to. This is wrong." the message read, getting a growl from Alya.

"It's funny, because this was part of his plan anyway according to Lila. He's just trying to make it sound softer. Well if he thinks he can get me to share my identity, he can kiss my butt." she said in frustration, only for Trixx to push the phone down.

"All the more reason to make sure he loses to your teacher, Armand. I heard he has a soft spot for Ladybug and Chat Noir. Speaking of Armand, it's his turn today...at your school".

Alya nodded. She hadn't forgotten that important detail about today. Who could possibly forget about the fact the school's fencing teacher was running for mayor?

"All the better for us to be there, little fox." Alya declared, "We'd best get ready and be there ASAP!"

"Seriously little cub, don't use weird acronyms like that and just SAY the words. It's so much better that way." Trixx muttered.

"But it saves time when you don't have to say them." Alya retorted, booping Trixx on the nose.

She quickly climbed out of bed, keen to get ready for school as quickly as possible. She'd even comb her hair quickly if such a thing was possible. With the attack on Brian fresh in everyone's minds, it was always possible that Armand could suffer the same fate. With her and the other Miraculers on standby, he'd have protection from whatever forces would launch an attack today, if such a thing ever happened. The most Alya could hope for is that today would go well and the Light wouldn't strike again. But she also knew that a quiet time with everything going as planned was too much to ask for...

* * *

Meanwhile, Marinette and Adrien were already making their way to school, just as keen to be there for the big day as Alya was. They too knew that it was possible their school could be a target for the Light just as Brian's conference was yesterday so it was paramount they were here. It was also perfectly natural that they would be here too as they were students at the school and thus, it was practically an obligation on their parts to be there to support one of their teachers. A perfect example of "hiding in plain sight" with no chance of ever being suspected of being superheroes. Adrien even noticed that Marinette didn't have her coat on as a disguise like last time.

"With how long you've been doing this, I bet you know ALL the hiding places in the school by now." Adrien chuckled.

"I could even label them without having to be at the place itself." Marinette said with a smile, "It'll be easy for us to slip out unnoticed and find somewhere safe to transform if we have to. I bet our new friends will use those hiding spots too as they'll know where to go in the school."

"I just can't wait till we can finally tell them we're Ladybug and Cat Noir." the blonde boy murmured, "It still feels wrong having to keep this from them while we're perfectly OK knowing THEIR secret identities."

"I felt that way before we learnt each other's identities." Marinette agreed, "I so wished and wished I could tell you that I was really Ladybug all this time and it frustrated me to no end that I couldn't tell you. When I told you back in Bruce Wayne's hotel, it felt like I'd taken a huge weight off my shoulders and that I was the one able to make my own decisions for once! Did you feel the same when you revealed yourself to me?"

Adrien lowered his head slightly, his face in a bit of a thought, but there was a smile, a smile that was telling of what he'd say was from his own heart. He turned to his girlfriend, his eyes light under his hood.

"It meant the world to me to tell you who I really was. I was tempted to take my ring off in some of our earlier adventures to show you who I was, to show you how honest and committed I was to you. I even thought of telling you that you didn't have to show me who you were, that I could go first and you could take your time." he said to her, his hand locked with hers as he finished his sentence.

Marinette's heart almost leapt from her chest, a mixture of warmth and happiness came over her. She was happy to hear just how much thought had gone into his mind in their earlier fights with his father, but that sentiment made her eyes sting a little. He really wanted her to know. Her smile was wobbly, something he noticed.

"You okay, M'Lady?" he asked gently, wanting to see what was troubling his beautiful lover.

She sighed and smoothed her chin a bit, in a way of rubbing her thoughts up and clearing her head before she gave him an answer.

"It's just...I feel so guilty at turning you down all those times in the past. Looking back, you really just wanted to earn my trust by telling me who you are. I'll be honest, Part of me was worried I wouldn't have liked what I'd have seen, but even then, I should've known better. We were a team back then, and we still are, but I wish we had that deep trust we have now. Looking back, I treated you like a rotten bitch, where I kept dismissing you and using you as an extra weapon...I had little regard for you when you had my back all that time. It's like what you said, if I had just let you show me who you were, I'd have thought over about it. I didn't because back then, I was self-righteous, in a bad way, to tell you the truth. If you did tell me, I'd have been more trusting and considerate of you." she explained to him, her eyes looking full of guilt as she talked about it.

Instead of him sighing, Adrien just smiled at Marinette, giving her hand a squeeze as he used his other hand to turn her head towards him, smoothing her cheek gently as he gazed into the endless blue of her eyes.

"If anything, I'm glad you're honest. But we've come far since then, and I'm happy with where we are now. I'll be honest, a tiny part of me was angry at how you treated me, but we know the truth now and like what you said, we go forward now. Remember?" he reminded his girlfriend, lifting their locked hands and resting it onto his scarf, keenly reminding her of that talk when they got home from Apokalips.

Marinette gazed into his eyes, just wondering how much kindness and love there was still in him after all he went through. His words were true though, just like her own, that they go forward now, never looking into the past, just going forward, stronger together. She smiled and pulled him down by the scarf, giving him a kiss on the lips that sent a warm rush go through him. They pulled slightly away, gazing into each other's eyes as Marinette smoothed his hand with her thumb.

"I do wonder what I did to deserve you." she whispered, getting a giggle out of him.

In their moments of sweetness, they just didn't know another couple were in front of them, one of their phones recording away at the beautiful sight. Of course, they ended up making their presence known when they finished recording, with Stephanie stepping forward and greeting them with a big clap on their shoulders, startling their lovers.

"That was purely romantic! I'm sending this to Bruce, this is gonna melt his heart when he sees this!" she said happily, getting a giggle out of Tim as he walked beside her.

"Heh, sorry. Just great to see something nice once in a while, especially when we're out of Gotham." he told the two, getting a raised eyebrow from Adrien and a slight pout from Marinette.

"Could've at least said hello." the latter pointed out, only to get a smile off of Stephanie.

"And where's the fun in that? It's nice greeting your new friends with a treat." she reminded "And it's great to walk with you in the daylight for a change and not behind closed doors." she added as they started walking together.

"We came this time. After Bart and Conner got involved yesterday, we've swapped. They don't know me and Stephanie behind our masks, so we're better suited here." Tim explained to them as they headed towards the school.

"Good idea on that. And hey, you'll get to meet more of our friends here too. They are a lively group." Marinette said to him, already wondering how these two would interact with the rest of their friends.

Tim nodded, smiling as he saw all the kids making their way in.

"They seem nice too. You should think of giving them a Miraculous after this is done. You'd all make a great team." he pointed out to her as they reached the steps.

"Yeah. We'll think about that after this is over. Still thinking of how those we've chosen are gonna react to when they find out who we are." Adrien told Tim, who gave him a supporting smile.

"They'll understand. This time with all you've been through, you'll know the best time to tell the truth and better at readying them for when you do." he stated, his voice full of understanding as they walked inside the building, entering the courtyard where a smaller podium was being set up for Armand to start his conference.

"Speaking of friends, I can see some of them other there. We'll walk off now so they won't see us with you, so they don't get the hint." Stephanie whispered as she pointed out Alya, Nino, Alix and Lila with each other near Miss Bustier's class. With a nod to each other, both couples slipped away, with Tim and Stephanie blending into the crowd as they watched the superheroes meet up with their new allies. They watched on as Marinette and Adrien met up with the new Miraculers. For Tim and Steph, they'd get the chance to see how these new heroes were outside of their costumes so this was going to be an interesting watch. Alya, Nino, Alix and Lila welcomed the duo with an exchange of hugs and high-fives, clearly glad to see them.

"Good to see you two as usual!" Alya said happily, "Did you hear about what happened at Brian's conference yesterday?"

"Who hasn't at this point?" Marinette snickered, "It's all people keep talking about at the minute: big guy in a weird suit and helmet attacks the conference with an army of ninja backing him up! I couldn't believe what I was hearing!"

"True that, I mean how often do we get ninja in a city like Paris?" Adrien added, chuckling.

It was easy for the super-couple to keep this pretence up as they were actually there as Ladybug and Cat Noir yesterday. They liked it when they could use the kind of lies that weren't complete lies and had some truth in them.

"After all the akuma we had during Hawk Moth's reign of terror, I think ninja in the city is pretty tame by comparison." Alix remarked.

"The best part of that story for me though was the news that there are brand new superheroes in Paris." Lila added, trying her best not to sound too prideful about herself so as not to clue Marinette or Adrien in on her secret, "Did you hear about that?"

"Sure did." Marinette replied.

This wasn't exactly a lie as they had heard about the new superheroes...just in the sense that they were the ones who'd brought them out into the city.

"I heard they were really awesome and helped Ladybug and Cat Noir out when fighting off those guys." Adrien put in, "What did they say about them again, there was a fox, a rabbit, a turtle and a bee hero or something?"

"Got them all down lover boy." Alya said with a wink, "Isn't it awesome that Paris has more superheroes fending for our city? OMG, just imagine what'll come out of this!" she cried ecstatically.

"I know dudes, we're like getting our own superhero team here in Paris!" Nino yelled with delight, "It's like we're building up our own Justice League!"

"I'd say "Teen Titans" is more appropriate." Alix corrected, "These new heroes clearly looked to be similar ages to Ladybug and Cat Noir."

"And just as capable." Marinette said with a nod, "I bet those two would've struggled to fend off them ninja without their new friends backing them up."

She made a knowing gesture over to Adrien as she said this, making him smirk in response.

"I also have a feeling we'll be seeing them again soon." he replied, winking at his girlfriend.

"Maybe they'll show up for Armand's conference." Lila put in, "I can imagine that guy will be thrilled to meet France's newest heroes in person if he ever gets the chance."

"Speaking of Armand, how's everything going?" Marinette asked, seeing now was a fitting chance to change the subject in a natural manner without it seeming awkward or too quick to do so.

"Dunno ,we just arrived." Alya admitted, "We're gonna see if he needs help setting up his podium for today. Wanna come join us?"

"Sure thing. Anything to help him look presentable and win this campaign" Marinette answered with beam, with Alya smiling.

"Terrific, let's go!" she said brightly, patting an arm on her friend's back as she took them around to the podium, where they were putting a few stands up that had a few quotes and pictures of Armand on them. Tim and Stephanie watched on with a smile, liking what they saw.

"They seem to get along well, and they all are keeping quiet about what they know. See, pretty good so far." Stephanie pointed out, with Tim nodding.

"Yeah, so far they're keeping up a good pretence. Can't wait to see them find out when this is over." he said brightly, seeing how well they were working together on the podium.

He then took a look around and felt his face drop slightly as he saw Roger arrive with several armed officers beginning to fill the entrances, seeing the stares they gotten from the kids.

"Must be scary, armed police in the school. All of the kids might have to get use to it for a while though" he said, his voice full of sympathy for them as the kids began to group together, fearing the worst.

Stephanie's smile dropped a bit, not as much as Tim's, with there being a lighter reflection on her face.

"Yeah. It's understandable though, and I think these guys have coped well in situations before with Akumas and getting kidnapped. Gotta give it to them." she reminded him, her voice going rather wise for a change, something that Tim admired a lot from her.

He shared a smile with her, though his eyes then trailed back to Roger, so he leaned closer to Stephanie.

"He was the guy who arrested those ninjas and snipers yesterday. Let's get closer, try to hear anything." he told her.

She nodded, looping an arm into his and leaning in closer to him "Right idea. And gotta make him think we're nervous." she whispered to him as they began to slowly walk closer towards Roger, with Stephanie doing her best to make herself look like she's scared as she gazed up to her boyfriend, who tried not to smirk, for she was such a cheeky person he often found it hard to see her looking sad.

They walked closer around Roger, their hips and legs moving up against each other while keeping their ears at ready. Roger didn't seem to take notice of them, though, he instead waved to a certain girl that was with everyone else, watching as she offered a small wave in return, keeping herself blended in the crowd. Roger smiled, glad to see she was doing okay, for he was keeping an extra eye out on his daughter since she was kidnapped. He did, though, make her stick to a rule at these places, to leave before the main thing starts, so she would be out of any danger. He couldn't risk it. He just wished he could've got her friends to leave with her but they had other plans.

It was then one of his armed officers came up to him, getting his focus.

"Sir, just to let you know, those we arrested yesterday are getting interviewed today. Apparently they've got a criminal psychiatrist coming in, requesting she wants to interview them all together, to asses if they're fit for transfer to prison, that they might be brainwashed." he told Roger, who nodded.

"Okay, make sure the chief keeps in touch, I want to hear every detail those creeps might tell us." he told the officer, who nodded.

"Yes sir. Also, the press are arriving soon, so we'll escort them in." he added.

Tim and Stephanie heard this and so they began to walk away, hearing what they needed.

"Okay, if this person can asses that those arrested were brainwashed, would that mean they might not remember what they saw while under control?" Stephanie whispered to Tim, who looked unsure.

"It's difficult. We'll have to find a way of getting inside info from the police. M'gann's job might get cut out for this mission." he pointed out, having already sent her on another.

Back with the French teens, they were finishing off putting the podium together when they noticed Nathanial sitting on the floor, drawing. Alix raised an eyebrow as she recognised a figure in the drawing, with Kim, Max and Mylène sitting with him and watching him. Interested, Alix walked to where they were and crouched with them, getting to see what he was drawing. Her eyes widened slightly as she saw it was her and the others in their superhero looks.

"Whoa...you're getting a little detailed with their designs, don't you think?" Alix asked, pointing to Bunnyx's rather prominent breasts in his drawing and how noticeably muscular he made Chat Noir and Carapace. Nathanial blushed as he nearly lost hold of his pencil.

"Well, what can I say? Some artists exaggerate a few things." he pointed out, only to get a giggle out of Kim.

"Dude, you have been getting more detailed since you were akumatised, especially on the boys. I know exaggerating art is one thing, but don't you think they'd get a little nervous if they saw this?" he told the red headed artist, who blushed brighter.

"Oh don't be mean! Art has different styles, and this is Nathanial's. If you ask me, it's better and he does them justice." Mylène said, putting a comforting arm around Nathaniel's back.

Alix could only look over the drawing Nathanial did of her as Bunnyx again before standing up and turning away, one hand unconsciously running over her chest and the other on her leg.

"Do they really look that big?" she whispered to herself. Sure, she was sporty and her superhero look clung to her really tightly, but she didn't think she had that amount of muscle on her...she wasn't sure whether to take it as a compliment or not.

She met back with the others, mostly with Alya, Nino and Lila. Seeing Marinette and Adrien were a little further away, they talked together.

"Looks like everyone's taking our arrival yesterday really well...just sad we can't tell them." she whispered to them, a guilty look in her eyes as she looked over her friends.

"You have no idea dudettes." Nino murmured, "I honestly wish I could scream it from the top of the school that I'm a superhero right now!"

"Yeah, and then you'll have the Light aiming fifty dozen snipers at you from every inch." Alya muttered, rolling her eyes, "Even in the areas where the sun don't shine!"

Nino looked away embarrassed, understanding what her girlfriend meant as her cheeky gaze briefly flickered down to his groin. He didn't want to imagine what it would be like to be shot at in every inch of his body, especially the sensitive areas. Suddenly screaming from the rooftops didn't sound like a good idea.

"It still would be awesome if we could tell our friends though." Alix agreed, "They'd love to hear that some of their classmates are fighting alongside Ladybug and Cat Noir!"

"I especially feel bad as I vowed I wouldn't ever lie again." Lila said grimly, "Now I HAVE to for my own good! It just feels counter-intuitive and that I'm going against what I promised. I know unlike my previous lies, there's nothing malicious about this one, but it still feels wrong."

The Italian girl's face fell as she mulled over this troubling thought.

"I get ya Lila, I really do." Alya said sympathetically, patting her shoulder, "But remember, Ladybug and Cat Noir DID promise they'd reveal themselves to us once the threat of the Light is over. At least then we can share our secrets with our mentors and, if we're lucky, they'll ease up and let us share our secrets with the rest of the class."

"I actually wonder if Ladybug and Cat Noir are anyone IN the class!" Nino cried, "I mean, it would explain a lot, don't you think?"

"That it explains how four schoolkids just coincidentally all seemed to get picked to be new superheroes to aid them? Yeah, it would now I think about it." Alya considered, "You know, you're pretty sharp when you want to be, handsome." she added with a smile that was a mixture of flirty and complimentary. Nino only blushed with pleasure, appreciating the comment. He liked it when his beloved said nice things like that to him.

"Well, if only I was always switched on." he admitted shyly, getting a wink off of Alya.

"Who knows? Perhaps this could be a new start for ya. It's probably Wayzz's wisdom sparking some energy in your brain." she added to him, making him beam.

"I guess looking after him and getting him settled might've helped too. Bringing out some inner wisdom." he joked, getting a giggle from everyone.

"Heh. Still, if they are in our class, its comforting to know, that they've been looking out for us and that they probably know us more than what we already think. I'd say after this, we'll need a big get together and have a party. Set up a base too." Alix pointed out, already picturing a base of their own and having their own getaway to train and fight together. Lila beamed at this.

"I might cover that for the latter. Might have enough money to buy an empty building and use it for ourselves." she said with a wink, getting a click of Alya's fingers.

"Ohhhh girl, you are onto something! When we meet up with them again we have got to tell them that, they'll be all in for it!" she said brightly, wanting to tell it to their heroes right now.

"Tell who what?" Marinette then asked as she and Adrien approached them from their side, looking at them with interest. They all gasped and spun to look at them, their eyes wide and their hands raised. Alya, for the first time in years, giggled nervously and looked at Alix, who shrugged nervously.

"Uh...a sports centre! We were thinking of getting Lila to buy a building and make a new sports centre! Alix came up with the idea! We were thinking of telling everyone about it!" she said quickly, making Adrien smile with interest.

"That sounds cool...don't see why you have to whisper about it, though." he pointed out, his eyes trailing over to his girlfriend's, giving her a knowing look that she could only give back to him.

Nino hummed to himself quickly and his eyes darted around, before they settled in on something. He quickly pointed at it with his finger.

"Oh, Uh, look, Armand's coming now! We better get off so we don't cramp his style!" he yelled, tugging at Alya and Alix's hands and pulling them away. Lila giggled though, smiling at the two lovers as they walked with her.

"Heh, I'll talk with my mom and dad about it. I'll go sit with them, and I'll make sure they don't give your teacher a hard time." she said to them both as they got off, walking off to find her parents. Adrien smiled, winking at his girlfriend as they blended into the crowd too.

"That does bring back memories, huh?" he asked as they got to a good place. Marinette nodded, giggling as she looped an arm around him.

"Yeah, it does. Before you know it, we'll be making excuses to sneak off altogether." she whispered as they huddled closely. Adrien giggled.

"Yeah, and we know what everyone will be thinking then." he whispered, getting a blush out of his girlfriend, who was already getting use to really going all for that when it came to sneaking off.

Yet while they all sneaked off to get somewhere as Armand arrived, the press did too, many from all over the world, their attention higher now after what happened yesterday. But there was one reporter among them who looked somewhat weird...his eyes looked serious, slightly masked by the shade of his hat, his skin slightly pale Caucasian, though he was dressed in a really great dark suit that made him look decent.

Alongside him was a hooded girl in a red hoodie with dragon fire blazing art style across her hood, wearing a pair of black leggings and a red skirt with a yellow trail around the lower half of it. Her eyes scanned around at the kids, trying her hardest to pinpoint anyone that was looking really weird to her.

It wasn't long until everyone went quiet as Armand soon stood on the podium, looking really smart for a change now that he wasn't wearing his fencing gear. He had a more normal look on his face, as if he was keeping himself reserved and not getting all smug and proud. Wether that was a cover or an actual change was up to anyone, but they would soon see just how serious he was going to take his campaign to get at being mayor. He was ready to do it again, and this time he knew what to say.

While this was happening, Roger eyed his daughter, giving her a wave to the door nearby. He could see Sabrina was getting nervous, but he could also see she was keeping herself together as she stood up and left for the nearby door. While he was at a distance, Roger could see her bitterness at leaving her friends here. But he did promise he'd call her back in.

Standing where he was, Armand waved to everyone, his eyes focussed more on the kids, for it was them he was wanting to talk to and get it across. He began to speak, his voice holding itself from going any higher.

"Thank you all for coming here today. It's brave of you, following from yesterday's attack. But I'm glad you came, because it tells me what I see in front of me: I see brave, strong and understanding people. People who are willing to listen. It's an honour to do it within this college, for it is here I've come to understand the people I desire to look after when I become mayor. My colleagues and my children are what made me see things differently in my political ideals. I just would've liked it if I didn't get akumatised to fully see it."

Everyone listened in, even the kids. Already he wasn't making any boasts about what he was about, nor was he angering anyone. He was choosing his words as wisely as he could, and it was certainly getting everyone smiling, seeing that he wasn't angry about his current job. It was kinda strange hearing him speak without an ounce of arrogance in his voice. They looked even more interested as he mentioned his time as an Akuma, from on he continued.

"When I was akumatised, it was because I lost to Andre. I ended up hurting a lot of people, turning them into mindless minions and putting my own friends in danger of them getting killed. But I was saved, by Ladybug and Chat Noir. They did so much to save me, and those who I brainwashed and endangered. From that point, I realised that with so many lives they've saved, and how accepted they were by everyone, that they were our future. And part of our future are our children, and they need to stay safe for as long as there is a Ladybug and Chat Noir around. This doesn't mean they are perfect, but there is room for improvement. I feel that what would be best is if they not only save the day, but they are there for those they save, something I feel a lot of us needed lately. My desire is to open a Victim Therapy Centre, from Akuma victims, to survivors of attacks, with Ladybug and Chat Noir as special visitors to help talk them through. We need a full bridge of trust between us and them. I know they care, and so I invite them to the opening after I'm elected."

Everyone was silent and in awe. Even Adrien looked touched by what he said. It was weird to hear such a loud and eccentric person like Armand speaking so considerably of others. He turned to Marinette, who beamed up at the fencing teacher, then turning to him.

"He's got the right ideas, and yeah, I think when we did talk with a few of the Akuma victims after they were good again, they improved a lot. We didn't do it with everyone, but it's something we can do with that Open Therapy Centre." she said to him. He nodded, smiling.

"Yeah. He is right. It'll be great to help people more than just coming in and fighting, they need to get to know us." he said, looking back to look at his fencing instructor as he went on.

One of the reporters spoke up.

"Sir, just want to ask, you want to build a bridge of trust between us and our heroes, what do you have to say about those new ones that came out to help? We haven't got a proper introduction to them, we don't know who they are, you think you can get answers out of them on their new friends?" he questioned, his voice pressing. Armand nodded at him.

"You have a good point. Yes, after yesterday, we need to know who these new heroes are. Not who they really are, but at least their names and how they came to join our heroes. In all honesty, I agree with Brian that we need more cooperation with them, but not to his idea of making them work for us. More they cooperate with us, the more we can work to keep Paris safe. Police and superheroes working together is a best way of that." he replied, his voice wise and sharp as he talked.

As they kept watching on, Tim and Stephanie kept looking around trying to notice anything different with anyone in the crowd. Tim raised his hand to his earpiece and spoke into it.

"Nothing right now, Kaldur. Can you see anything on your scanning monitors?" he whispered, trying to keep his voice down so as not to have anyone look at him.

"Nothing. No one making odd movements or trying a move that could put him at risk. We'll keep an eye, though." Kaldur answered through the ear com. Tim nodded as he pulled his hand away, looking to Stephanie.

"You see anything?"

"No, just crowds of kids and reporters." came her answer.

One of the reporters, though, was clearly not up for just standing around. He was smirking at Armand, only it looked more telling he wasn't finding this funny, but what he had planned was gonna be funny in his own way. He turned to the Japanese girl, his eyes clearly ready for action.

"You might want to leave. Come with your weapons, meet me on top of this college." he whispered to her. He gotten a sigh from her, so she turned and left. It was best she did leave, as she would've gotten hurt if she stayed.

Continuing to watch, Lila felt her mother put her hand on her arm, making her look at her to meet a worried expression, making her turn her head slightly.

"Mama?" she asked. Amara sighed and leaned closer to her daughter.

"If you want to leave, you can, my dear. After yesterday, me and your father realised keeping you under watch at these places was wrong. You can go home." she told her daughter, her voice full of worry for her daughter. Lila's eyes went wide and had to do a recheck, looking at her mother up and down. She then shook her head.

"No...mama, my friends are here, and I won't leave you and papa here on your own. If an attack comes, we leave together." she said, her voice sharp and not taking anything else for an answer. Amara looked stunned at how straight her daughter was being with her. Not getting angry, not getting hard. Just being straight and choosing to talk to her.

Amara was about to respond, but it was then that she felt a slight vibrating going on in her head. She frowned and groaned, grabbing at her head. Following her was her husband, then the person next to them, and then it went on to many others. It wasn't long until everyone in the whole sports yard began to groan, standing wobbly up on their feet. Even Armand found his words gone as he felt his head begin to go light. Tim and Stephanie had it too, their eyes losing sight as they felt their brains go weird. It was almost similar for those that had their Miraculouses, only not as affected as the others. For them, they felt dizzy, nothing else, but it was enough to make them drop to their hands, where they kept staring at the floor, trying to keep their eyes focussed.

Nino took his glasses off, finding it too much and went on to close his eyes to try and block it out, while Alix gritted her teeth and kept looking up, trying to keep herself steady and not go down like everyone else.

But it was then it came. Everyone felt a huge flash storm over their eyes, even those that had them closed, could see a purple flash cone over them, making them all scream in pain as it sent a shiver down their bodies, making them all slump to the ground, where they continued to groan.

Everyone laid where they were, their sight blurred and unable to see what was going on...except for a few. Marinette blinked her blurriness away as she rested against Adrien's chest, thanking Master Fu for giving her Tikki for she could stop stuff like this from fully ending up like everyone around her. She held off a gasp as she and Adrien saw a man floating towards Armand, who was now on the ground, rubbing his head as he tried to ease it. She tried not to say anything as she saw through the man's head, his brain clear to her.

It was Psimon, who reached Armand and lifted him by his arm, looking to everyone with a grin that told them he was clearly up for starting another attack.

"You all really believe these weaklings are fit to lead you!? Your dooming you're city by offering belief that heroes can be on the level of normal people. You can't control them nor can you negotiate with them. They might've saved this man's opponent yesterday, but they won't save him. You'll see just how much your heroes care!" he said loudly, looking up to the ceiling with his eyes full of wonder. The whole world was going to see this, and where else for it to see?

He took Armand up and flew right towards the ceiling, going through the ceiling and going right to the top, out in the open for everyone to look at.

For the hidden heroes in the room, they could only stumble to their feet, their eyes wide as they took in what was going on around them. They needed to get past everyone else and get to the top quick, but with so many stunned people around them filling the floor, they knew it'd be a struggle to get up and transform...but they couldn't leave him. They were heroes, and it was time to show the Light this was business.

* * *

_**The Light don't give up so easily as you can see. So will our heroes save Armand D'Argencourt or will he receive the fate that was intended for Brian Beaumont? **_


	11. Chapter 10: To the Rescue!

_Chapter 10: To The Rescue!_

Marinette and Adrien were still trying to grasp what had happened as they bent down to pick up the unconscious Tim and Stephanie. One moment Armand was carrying out his speech for his own political run for mayor and then suddenly, a man with a transparent cranium had somehow knocked everyone out, the duo themselves only being spared this fate due to their Miraculous, and now he'd grabbed Armand and flown off to the roof with him. They imagined it had been some kind of psychic power. They were just lucky it had less of an effect on them and thus, they were up and ready to fight back. While the crowd was still unconscious from the attack, Marinette and Adrien dragged Tim and Steph out of the sports yard to get them to a quieter place so they could tell them what had happened. They took the superheroes into the changing rooms and closed the door to prevent them from being overheard, not that there was anyone to overhear them in the first place. Adrien stayed by the door to listen out for danger while Marinette shook Tim and Steph gently to try and wake them up.

"Wake up you two, please wake up!" she cried frantically, shaking them a little harder as that didn't seem to work.

Luckily, it didn't take much more shaking for the current Robin and his girlfriend groaned groggily, rubbing their heads as they started to come to.

"Uuuugggghhhh...Tim, have they invented an aspirin strong enough to combat a headache as bad as this yet?" Steph muttered as she massaged her temples.

"I doubt ANY medication could fight this off." Tim replied, running a hand through his dark hair.

"Oh thank goodness, you're awake!" Marinette cried, "Listen, we've gotta act now! Some guy with an exposed brain did something to you and the crowd and then grabbed Armand! He's taken him up to the roof!"

That was enough for Tim and Steph to shake off whatever headache they might still have. They were both on their feet in seconds.

"Shit! We should've expected that Psimon would be here as well!" Tim cursed, "I bet he wants to pay us back for getting the info off his computer in Biyala!"

"That Psimon's always been a stubborn guy, he really doesn't know when to quit." Steph agreed, "I bet he used his powers to hide himself from us so we wouldn't notice until it was too late."

"Hopefully it's not too late to save Armand." Marinette chimed in, "We've gotta get to the roof and fast before that "Psimon" guy can do anything to him!"

Tim looked unsure about the idea of Marinette and Adrien going up against Psimon. He knew too well just how dangerous he was and didn't want to risk the two having their minds destroyed by him.

"You two should leave him to us." Tim said firmly, "Psimon is a master telepath and if he ever came up against you, he'd turn you into a vegetable in seconds. Me and Steph know how to handle him and how to fight him so it's best you leave him to us."

"I know this may sound unbelievable but me and Marinette were tortured by Desaad during our time on Apokalips." Adrien added, deciding to join in the conversation, "Even HE couldn't break us. I doubt Psimon could do any worse to us."

Steph stared at Adrien as if he'd just done the most incredible thing in the history of mankind.

"No...way!" she gasped, "You were tortured by Desaad and LIVED?! Suddenly I understand why they call you "Miraculers" because that really IS miraculous!"

"How about praising our feat against Desaad later and focus on saving Armand?" Marinette snapped the blonde girl back into the current situation, making her giggle nervously.

"Look, I doubt you two have time to change back into your superhero costumes, you can't risk being seen by Psimon. You can do something though, try and look into the school's CCTV, pinpoint where Psimon revealed himself and where he came from, could help narrow down where Vandal is." Marinette explained to them, leaving the two Gotham teens in shock at what they were just told while Adrien looked at his girlfriend proudly, seeing she was always quite brainy when thinking fast.

"Of course! Just tell us where it is and we'll get to it!" Tim said, eager to find the CCTV that would be helpful for this.

"Go down that corridor, four doors down you'll find one that is called Technicians, they'll have it in there." Adrien told him, pointing to the larger pair of doors that was just behind them. Tim beamed, giving Adrien a nod.

"Alright, you two get to the roof now, we'll get the CCTV." he said, giving the two a clap on their arms as a goodbye gesture. Stephanie nodded at them before taking off after her boyfriend, determined to help bring down this attack.

Marinette peeked her head around the pillar and noticed a certain lot of friends were beginning to get up, including several cameras the TV crew left behind, so she turned back to Adrien.

"We'll have to transform in the toilets, we can't let them see us and the TV cameras are still rolling." she told him. Adrien nodded, seeing where she was coming from, so they quickly sneaked off towards the doors that would lead them that way, though a certain Kwami had to speak up.

"Boys or girls toilets? Better not go in either one together, might give you ideas for the future." Plagg said brightly, getting a groan from Adrien.

Those certain lot of friends Marinette saw just now had finished picking themselves up, getting themselves closer as they began to figure what just happened.

"Ugh...was it me, or did I see a zombie grab Armand fly him through the roof?" Nino asked with a groan, getting a nod from Alix.

"Yeah, definitely saw that too...ugh, thank Ladybug for giving us a Miraculous, if I didn't, I'd be having a huge headache." she agreed bitterly.

Alya rolled her eyes as she took the two down a nearby corridor, with Lila following them closely. As soon as they were out of sight, she pulled Trixx out of her pocket, giving his head a little smooth.

"You okay, lil' one?" she asked softly, getting a small nod from the foxy ball of fluff.

"Yeah, had worse over the years, darling. How about you?" he asked, looking up to the Martiquean girl, who gave him a smile.

"Not too bad. Not enough to stop me from taking on that creep on the roof." she said eagerly, looking to her friends as they finished clearing their heads.

"You all ready to transform?" she asked, not wasting any time in standing around. She got a full nod from everyone, making her grin.

"Alright, let's show this creep who's boss like we did yesterday! Trixx, Lets Pounce!"

"Wayzz, Shell On!"

"Fluff, Clockwise!"

"Pollen, Buzz On!"

A mixture of colours flashed from where they were, fully turning them into their powered forms, all ready to have another fight to protect their loved ones.

Up on the roof was a different situation, where Psimon had lifted Armand with simply a raise from his arm, eyeing the man with a smirk that was all telling of what he had in mind.

"Take a good long look at your city, foolish man, it'll be the last thing you'll see." he said with a pressing tone that sounded like he was liking what he was doing. Armand groaned as he turned his head to him, glaring at the pale man.

"What...do you intend...to achieve? Why show yourself when you'll lose?" he asked with a struggle due to the tight grip Psimon had on him.

The pale criminal just hummed, mocking the fencing master as he took it in.

"Who is to say I will lose? You'll be dead on the ground, Paris' superheroes will lose a politician in favour of them, and people will learn just how much you can't rely on your heroes." he coldly told the man, using his powers to send him closer to the edge.

However, Armand's eyes caught a blue flash behind Psimon, and he couldn't help but smile as he saw who emerged from it.

"You should think again, foolish criminal!" he hit back, making the pale man frown before he turned to see Rena Rouge, Carapace, Queen B, and Bunnyx standing there, ready to fight. Psimon just chuckled though, turning to them with a sharp look in his eyes.

"Oh, the newer heroes? And where's your precious Ladybug and Chat Noir? Thought you were being babysat by them." he questioned. Queen B readied her spinning top.

"They'll be here soon. We can handle you on our own before they get here." she said sharply.

Psimon just laughed at her as he then began to vibrate, leaving the heroes confused at what he was doing. They then gasped as then four figures appeared before them in a similar vibrating appearance, all of whom took on the appearance of Psimon, looking exactly like him.

"When you say you can handle me, which one were you talking about?" he asked mockingly as his copies began to advance on them.

Bunnyx stepped back, though, before drawing a rune.

"I'll just hop forward and get Armand away, you-AGH!" she couldn't finish her words or her time command as she then felt a hard kick to the back, sending her sprawling across the ground, shocking her friends.

They quickly saw they were now facing down another enemy, dressed in a red jacket of sorts, a matching mouth mask, while in a crimson skirt and black leggings and armed with a familiar sword.

"Sorry children, but you've got more than just a psychic master to deal with." Kagami said threateningly, striking a pose with her left arm outstretched and her sword raised high in the air, ready to strike.

Rena Rouge adopted a battle ready stance of her own, ready to fight back against the ninja girl before her.

"You're that girl who was with Black Manta and those ninjas yesterday!" she growled, "What's the matter, couldn't handle defeat so you've come back to lose again?"

"Now I know who I'm up against, this time will be different. I won't lose like I did yesterday." Kagami said coldly, "For my masters, I'll strike you all down and bring you to Vandal Savage for interrogation!"

"Eh, can't say I'm that eager to meet him honestly." Rena scoffed, "But I'm sure the police would love to meet you!"

She then charged towards Kagami, raising her flute in the air and preparing to swing it into Kagami's head. The Asian girl ducked down low to avoid being hit by the fox girl and swept her legs out from underneath her. Rena crashed down onto her back, groaning from the impact and Kagami raised her sword, aiming for a clean strike to Rena's head. She'd soon find out how tough these superheroes really were and if a strike to the head from her sword would finish them off. Rena recovered just in time and held up her flute, blocking the flow. Kagami was surprised and impressed to see that a mere flute was strong enough to hold up against her sword. Vandal would be VERY interested indeed to find out how these heroes ticked. The two girls pushed against each other, trying hard to overpower one another. In the end, Kagami lost the struggle for Carapace threw his shield at her. The student of Lady Shiva was so startled that she didn't even feel the impact as she landed down on her side from the attack. As she lay there wondering what had hit her, Carapace helped Rena back onto her feet.

"Nice shot." the illusionist complimented.

"Yeah, I'm gettin' real good at this!" Carapace cried enthusiastically.

"But is it enough to handle me as well?" came the cold, cruel voice of Psimon.

Two of his duplicates had sneaked up on the two Miraculers and kneed them both in the back, knocking them down and leaving them groaning in pain. Laughing menacingly, the two duplicates reached out to try and take their weapons but Queen B interrupted by swinging her top at both of their heads. The duplicate Psimons cried out and clutched their heads in pain while Queen B smirked confidently.

"Hey, maybe if I hit your head hard enough, that big brain of yours will spill out onto the floor!" she sneered.

"I'm up for testing that theory." Bunnyx replied as she stood beside her, both taking notice of two Psimon copies coming up on the other side of them.

Surrounded by all four of them, Bunnyx gave Queen B a wink, which she caught as she stood closely next to her. Planting her umbrella in the ground, she stared at the Psimon copies in front of her while Queen B stared at the ones behind her.

"C'mon, brain boys, we're waiting for ya!" she dared, making the four copies growl at her.

They all leapt towards her, only for Bunnyx to spin her umbrella tip around in a circular manner that created a portal in front of her. The two copies that came at her front disappeared into the portal, which reopened in front of Queen B, sending them flying right into the other two copies, leaving them in a heap of groans and bruises, leaving their creator disappointed.

Kagami wasn't finished though, as she began to launch several slashes against Rena and Carapace, her swipes fast enough to become a blur. They gotten a few jabs here and there from her sword, but their magic was stopping it from getting too lethal. Kagami then sliced her sword up Rena's right arm, creating a straight slash that made her cry out and drop down onto her knees. Carapace glared at the Japanese girl, blocking an incoming slash from her sword, before he spun his shield around, it's lights disorientating the Asian girl and proceeded to punch against his shield, hard enough to hit her right in the chest and send her flying back a good few feet from her.

Carapace quickly helped Rena up, looking at her up and down in concern.

"You okay, babe? That cut looked deep." he said in fear for his girl's arm, only for a bright orange flash to slide over her wound, healing it and leaving it as good as it was before. She gave him a nod.

"Just fine. It's like I didn't get a cut." she assured him, leaving him pleased.

Bunnyx and Queen B regrouped with them.

"His copies are in a dogpile, just him and her now. Wanna change opponents?" Bunnyx asked Rena in an easy tone, sounding ready to get it finished.

Rena nodded at the rabbit styled hero.

"More than welcome to. You got hit by her first, get some payback." she told her, getting a grin from Bunnyx as she and Queen B looked towards Kagami, who crouched low as she saw Psimon was struggling to control his copies as they were slowly just picking themselves back up. She had to save his skin quick.

She stood up and readied her sword, eyeing all the heroes as they made their way to each of their targets. She remembered who used what weapon last...and it would be useful.

Her sword's gem glowed bright and it let out a few clangs and clicks of metal, before it folded open into a circular shield, causing Bunnyx and Queen B to briefly stop as they wondered what she was doing. They soon got their answer as the shield shot forward like a bullet fired from a gun, hitting them hard and sending them right into the backs of Rena and Carapace, sending them all right on top of each other and left in a pile up, leaving them groaning from the impact of the multiple hits they just received.

Kagami sighed as she stood up, glad to have gotten back at them. Psimon saw what she did and relaxed, concentrating on his copies to recover and surround the heroes. They all grinned as they looked down on the heroes as they tried to pick themselves up, but they couldn't help but freeze as all the copies began to speak at once.

"You all tried to fight an adult on your own. When will you children realise adults are the dominant ones in the age group? Let us give you more of a taste of our power." they all spoke as their eyes locked onto each hero, each eyes glowing a low purple as they all began vibrate.

What followed was agonising whining of electronic sounds in their heads, making them all crouch down and clutch their ears, crying out at the pain the sounds were having on their ears.

"Gah! M-My ears...they might pop!" Queen B cried as they curled up, using her fingers to try and clamp them down.

"Stop it, just stop!" Bunnyx cried, shoving her fingers into her ears to try and drown it out.

Kagami couldn't help but cringe at the sight. She was already wondering if this would make them explode. As much as she wanted to impress her bosses, they were children themselves...

Psimon just laughed at what his copies were doing, turning back to Armand as he then floated him past the edge.

"You see now? You give everyone the poor belief that mere children can protect you and them, when all your doing is hiding behind those that can easily get lost. What will you do then? Then again, you won't be able to answer that, since you'll make a quick trip to the ground." he said in such a humorous tone you'd think he was looking at a hilarious meme.

Armand felt a rush go through his feet as he felt the tightness loosen around him, leaving him to plunge towards the bottom of the school. He couldn't help but let out a scream, feeling his life was about to come to an end as he was certain he'd hit the ground...

But then another tightness came over him. The tightness of a yo-yo string, wrapped tightly around his chest that kept his arms closed. He felt his body suddenly move from down to the side, where he then felt a small arm hook around his back and then his descent began to slow down. Instead of landing on the grass of the school, he found himself back on the front steps of the school, where he was greeted by the swarming numbers of police and reporters. He gasped as he had this all kick in...he was alive! All thanks to his saviour. He turned to her and felt a wash of comfort come over him as he saw her giving him a smile before she swung back up to the roof. It was time to put an end to this crazy situation.

Up on the roof, Psimon was confused at why he didn't hear a thud, leaving him tempted to walk closer to the edge to see what had become of his work with Armand...only to hear a familiar loud lot of groans that sounded a lot like his own voice. Turning around, he gasped to find Chat Noir had come to the roof, using his glowing baton to whack one of his copies on the head, turning it to a puff of purple smoke from the glowing tip of his staff, making Psimon groan as his copies lost control of what they were doing. Kagami saw this and went to hit him, only for her arm to get a yo-yo wrapped around it and pulled her aside with a lot of force, sending her sprawling across the roof as Ladybug and Chat Noir stood near their friends, allowing them to get up.

"Looks like we're just in time guys!" Ladybug said brightly.

"Yeah, I thought we were gonna be late for this party!" Cat Noir added, twirling his staff.

Psimon's eyes narrowed with hatred as he saw his new opponents. Kagami stood beside him, ready to battle just as he was. She had been keen to have another fight with Ladybug.

"So you two must be Ladybug and Cat Noir." Psimon muttered, "I'm not impressed. I expected someone taller and considerably stronger looking."

"Don't let their diminutive appearances fool you." Kagami warned, "These two are more powerful than they seem. They are France's biggest heroes and having fought them yesterday, I can say they've earned their reputation."

"In that case, it should be most rewarding getting to crawl into their minds and find out what secrets they have inside..." Psimon purred.

The idea of examining these two from the inside out was too tempting not to try. He could use his telepathy to try and find out everything about them, identities and all, and give this information to Vandal Savage. Wouldn't that be the perfect thing to make up for his failure in Bialya! He closed his eyes, preparing to reach out to Ladybug and Cat Noir with his mind. But he never got the chance. Ladybug remembered Tim and Steph's warning earlier and reacted quickly, throwing her yo-yo straight at his transparent cranium. The weapon struck him dead in the middle of his forehead, making Psimon scream in anguish as the mother of all headaches swept over him. He felt as if his brain really was about to leak out onto the floor. Kagami retaliated by charging into Ladybug and ramming her off her feet with her sword still imitating Carapace's shield. Ladybug hit the floor but she quickly rolled over backwards and landed on her feet again, spinning her yo-yo around for another attack. She leapt towards Kagami and tried to hit her but Kagami blocked her blows with her shield. Then her sword's gem glowed again and the weapon changed from a shield to a long, bladed whip that was clearly meant to be imitating Ladybug's yo-yo. Kagami spun it around, a silver blur circling her hands as she did so. Ladybug stared grimly at the weapon, wondering how Kagami even had such a magical item in her possession. Was that sword a Miraculous of some kind and its ability was mimicking other weapons? Whatever it was, she knew she had to watch out.

"Nice toy. Don't think it'll help you win!" Ladybug cried confidently.

"Vandal entrusted me with this weapon and I won't let him down by failing with it!" Kagami yelled, "I'll use it to take you down and then I'll bring you, conscious or not, to him so he can get a good, long look at you!"

"Yeah, I'd rather not give him that chance." Ladybug said dismissively, "But I'd happily let you take me to him so I can kick his butt out of Paris for good!"

"He'd break you in half before you could throw a single punch." Kagami retorted, swiping at Ladybug with her whip.

Ladybug yelled and tried to dodge but the whip had come to her a fraction too quickly. It cleaved across her stomach, tearing a gash in her costume and making her wince in pain. Ladybug placed a hand over the gash, willing the pain to go away so she could fight back. Unfortunately, the attack had stunned her long enough for Kagami to whip her as hard as she could. Ladybug yelled out loud and then Kagami followed up by kicking her in the face. Despite being superpowered, that kick still felt like it was enough to smash her jaw to pieces. Ladybug stumbled and fell over, clutching her face in pain.

Of course, Kagami didn't realise Ladybug wasn't alone in her all focused state on her, as Chat Noir suddenly appeared beside her and whacked her across the face, sending her staggering back from his girlfriend, putting distance between herself and him as he helped her up. He took a quick look to see her stomach was healing up thanks to her magic, leaving her a comforting smile as he saw Kagami wasn't getting anywhere in her attacks on her.

They turned their focus back to Kagami as she whipped her bladed tail out at them again, but this time the two of them spun their yo-yo and batons around to create their spinning shields, sending sparks flying from the impact of her weapon against theirs. Kagami pulled her weapon back and aimed to swipe at their legs, but as she drew her arm back, she felt something hook around her wrist, stopping her attack. She turned to find Bunnyx had hooked her umbrella handle around her wrist, giving her a grin.

"Hello." she greeted before giving her a hard kick up the chin, sending her flying a full circle in the air before landing on her stomach, winded from the kick she'd just received.

Ladybug wasted no time in sitting Kagami up and wrapping her yo-yo around her, tying her arms behind her back and pushing her back onto her stomach as she struggled. Ladybug gave Bunnyx a smile as Chat Noir picked up the fallen chained tail.

"Nice leg work, buns." she complimented the rabbit hero, who winked.

"I'm proud of how my sports affect my body." she said, patting her hip.

Rena Rouge, Carapace and Queen B had now just needed to get past the last three clones of Psimon to get to him, for he was still picking himself up from the hit he'd just gotten from Ladybug's yo-yo. One of the clones pulled out a dagger and made a jab towards Rena, who caught his wrist and shoved it to the side before kicking him in the face, hitting it hard enough to cause it to disappear in a purple cloud. Carapace came up with a creative move that saw him throw his shield down in between the legs of one copy and it bounced up into the face of the other, destroying it, leaving Queen B to wrap her spinning top around the last copy and toss it right into Psimon, causing it to go up in smoke upon impact. It made him cry out in pain as he fell right onto his head, giving him even more of a headache than he already did. Like Ladybug did with Kagami, Queen B wrapped her spinning top around Psimon and dragged him over to the captured girl, giving Ladybug a clap on the arm.

"Two goons captured, all ready to deliver to the authorities." she said gladly as she looked down at the two captured criminals, getting a nod from her.

"You can say that again. Plus we have something I wouldn't mind looking into." Ladybug said as Chat Noir showed the sword to her. Rena looked at Kagami though, wonder in her eyes.

"Can I be honest? I'm a bit worried at why a girl of our age would work with some monsters like Vandal Savage. I mean, she might be brainwashed, but it's an eye opener at what kind of network he's in charge of." she said grimly, looking at Kagami with a mix of sympathy and nervousness.

"She can tell us everything when the police come and get her and brain creep. I can hear them coming up the stairs now." Bunnyx informed as she could hear a loud number of footsteps coming up the stairs that led to the roof.

Psimon groaned as he turned onto his back, glaring at the heroes as they stood over him and Kagami. He didn't like how it was, that he'd gotten defeated by some children again, standing over him and getting another victory to themselves. There was no way he was going to jail, espescially on TV. His eyes turned to the door opening up, seeing Roger come through with a few armed police officers. He looked back to Ladybug with utter hatred in his eyes.

"You might've saved your politician, Ladybug, but we will get our results in the end!" he yelled at her before he closed his eyes hard, his brain lighting up in a slight purple.

Before they could even try to stop him, Ladybug, her friends and the police felt a hard wipe come over their heads that was rushed with cold, sending them right onto their backs, leaving their heads in a really fuzzy few minutes. It was just enough for Psimon to get up, lifting a dazed Kagami into his arms and grabbing her sword from Chat Noir's side. His eyes looked out over the streets beyond the school, seeing the back of it was all clear, before looking to the well built residence of the back streets. His plan clear, he floated off the ground carefully landed at the back, hiding low as he crept his way down the quieter paths that would take him into the back streets. It would just be enough to give him time to create an illusion for himself to avoid getting seen.

Up on the roof, Ladybug and her friends recovered first while the cops took a little longer to shake off the effects of Psimon's psychic onslaught. They call climbed to their feet, blinking the dizziness away and rushing over to help Roger and his platoon back up. Roger groaned for a moment but otherwise seemed unhurt by the whole thing.

"Are you alright officer?" Ladybug asked.

"Ugh, I so hope I can arrest that guy with the exposed brain next time I see him!" Roger groaned, "Powers like that should be illegal! He could've blown someone's head off with that power!"

"Believe me, we enjoyed it just as much as you did, and our powers spare us the worst of it!" Ladybug exclaimed, "I'm sorry officer, but the bad guys got away. We're never gonna find them now, not while Psimon can use his powers to hide himself or make us see things we're not actually seeing. We'll just have to hope we can get him next time."

"Believe me, I'm as eager to put him in a cell as you are." Roger agreed, "Come on men, let's move! There's nothing more for us up here!"

The platoon of policemen obeyed and filed down from the roof of the school to head back into the city streets. As soon as they'd all left, Ladybug turned to the other Miraculers. Despite seeming calm and collected while talking with Roger earlier, her face had suddenly turned dark and she looked as if somebody was in for the chop. Cat Noir understood why. Ladybug obviously hadn't wanted to make a big scene in front of Paris's policemen. What good would that have done, especially in the eyes of the law? They had to remain professional no matter what if they wanted the public to trust them and rely on them as the city's heroes. Now the cops had gone, Ladybug could properly let it all out. She kicked the floor in annoyance, anger flaring in her eyes.

"DAMN IT!" she cursed, "We were THIS close to nabbing ourselves two members of the Light, and we got out hands on a powerful weapon the Light had given one of the members and we lost them!" she emphasized this point by holding her index finger and thumb just millimetres apart.

"Tim and Steph warned us about Psimon Ladybug. We really should've let the two deal with him instead." Cat Noir said, his voice even to try and ease his girlfriend's nerves.

"Maybe we should have, but I really thought that all of us together would be enough." the spotty heroine muttered, "And you know as well as I do that we can't always rely on America's heroes to fight our battles for us. We need to show that we're capable of dealing with more than just Hawk Moth."

"Isn't this basically Young Justice's fight as well as the Light are THEIR enemies?" Carapace noted, "It's everyone's fight here dudette, not just yours."

Ladybug sighed, running a hand through her blue hair softly.

"Yes, yes it is." she concurred, "And I could do with remembering that honestly. Speaking of Young Justice..."

"We can catch up with Tim and Steph to see if they've dug anything up from the CCTV cameras!" Cat Noir cried, "I bet they've found something really useful for us!"

"So maybe this day isn't a total loss after all." Bunnyx said optimistically.

"Back to the hotel I guess?" Carapace asked simply, since he guessed that was the only place they could regroup at.

Chat Noir nodded with a simple smile.

"Yup, back to five star of luxury and secrecy." he replied with a more teasing tone, knowing well their new friends would like to get a bite to eat from such a place.

Carapace beamed as Bunnyx opened a portal, looking forward to having a small time to relax their aching bodies from such a fight. Ladybug, however, looked a little unsettled, as she couldn't help but wonder if Kaldur was gonna be disappointed with their results, as a small part of her couldn't help but wonder if they were achieving so little against these more powerful foes...even the cheering crowds chanting her name didn't seem to please her as she disappeared into the portal.

* * *

However, they weren't the only ones who had the pressure on them, for someone of royalty needed to carry out her own commands. She didn't like having to walk down the corridors that carried many people that reeked of stress and coffee, it was terrible stench to her. The dull blue colours didn't do well with her eyes either, for she always lived surrounded by gold, bronze and cream colours of grand luxury and forever with the light of Africa beaming onto her. Even the clothes were uncomfortable for her, for wearing a simple black blazer, tan trousers and a open blouse was too tight and frustrating for her. But she was given a job that she was going to love doing and it'd be a pleasure to utterly confuse the idiots all around her.

The dark skinned woman soon found herself in a more quieter corridor as she was now facing a black door that had been protected by a keypad on the side and two guards, who eyed her in confusion as she walked up to them. She smiled and gave them a nod, talking to the slightly taller one.

"I am right to guess this is the room you use for open sessions?" she asked, her voice only slight with her French accent, but it sounded somewhat pressing...as if she wanted a straight answer from the man in front of her.

For the man, he frowned as he tried to say something, but some feeling came over his neck and his brain felt like it suddenly began to process her question more carefully. He didn't get why his hands began to tremble slightly, but he remained focussed on her eyes, which looked calm but looked as if they were holding daggers, ready to cut his own eyes out. His neck then eased and out came words he didn't think of even saying to her.

"Yes...we use this for therapy sessions for officers coping with stress of dangerous crime cases." he said straightly.

His fellow colleague looked at him in confusion.

"Why are you telling her? You know we-2

"No no, I'm asking him. He's clearly worth talking to more." the woman cut him off with a more pressing tone.

The same, stiff feeling came over the man's nerves and he couldn't help but gulp, finding his words stuck in his gut as she continued to talk to his friend.

"Then you should've known I'd be coming here to use this for the criminals you captured yesterday. I require you to get all of them here, in handcuffs, so I can interview them all." she told the other officer, who couldn't help numbly nod at her.

He didn't want to question her, because those eyes held something, something that told him she was more powerful than he could even grasp. But he knew someone was coming to see them, so he felt best to do as he was told.

"I'll let you in." he replied as he punched in the code to open the door, which let off a loud vibration as it opened, allowing the woman to walk in, giving him a smile.

"Why thank you. I look forward to making a start with these poor individuals today." she said to him as she made her way into the grey room that had a circular lot of chairs, taking a seat on one of them as she waited for them to collect those that she needed to see.

The Bialyan woman wasn't kept waiting for long, which suited her just fine as she was used to things being snappy around her and no dilly-dallying whatsoever. Only a couple of minutes had passed before the door opened up a second time and in filed all the captured ninjas and the snipers from yesterday's attack on Brian Beaumont. She eyed them coldly, making it clear to them that she wasn't someone who was going to let them off easily. The ninjas and snipers all sat down in the chairs, all handcuffed as requested. The shadowy warriors set all eyes on Queen Bee, recognizing her despite her disguise. Her presence was clear to them: this was a death sentence and she was the grim reaper. The only way this could've been more obvious if said grim reaper had been Harvest instead.

"Here they are, all the captured individuals you wanted to speak to." the man said meekly, "We'll give you as long as you need."

He then left the room, leaving Queen Bee alone with the prisoners. Every man that was looking at her felt a desperate need to flee the room but they didn't dare move. Why bother when Queen Bee would just command them to stop anyway? They had no chance of escape. All they could do was sit there and await their fate, however grisly it maybe. Queen Bee smirked with sadistic pleasure at the mean, relishing in their terror over being in her presence before speaking the words that would send them to their graves.

"You've failed us, all of you." Queen Bee said coldly, "You know perfectly well our master does not tolerate failure. And as you're a threat to our plans due to your incarceration, you cannot be allowed to live. Every single one of you will break each other's necks."

It was a command so sick and evil that nobody wanted to carry it out. But it was hopeless for the imprisoned men. Once Queen Bee gave a command, all common sense and survival instincts went out the window. There was only one thing on their minds now: to kill each other. It was as if her voice had slipped into their brains and taken control of them, brainwashing in every sense of the word. All the men in the room rose out of their seats and grabbed each other by the necks, squeezing as hard as they could on each other to kill every last one of themselves. The two men watched in horror, wondering what on Earth was going on. They saw one man's eyes bulge helplessly as he fought for air, his face turning purple as his oxygen supply rapidly depleted from his strangling. One man sharply twisted another man's head, snapping his neck and killing him instantly only for the same fate to befall him as a ninja repeated that act. Their bodies crumpled heavily onto the floor. The first man pounded on the glass window, trying to get Queen Bee's attention.

"What the hell is going on in there?! Get them to stop!"

But Queen Bee ignored him and rose out of her seat. She left the room and turned to the two men, fixing them with her steely gaze. She had a Medusa effect on them, freezing them on the spot without the addition of turning them into stone at the same time.

"You will not attempt to stop this. You will not call for back up. You will not even report what has happened here." she ordered, "You will even forget you ever saw me. Now run along and get yourselves a coffee."

The two men reluctantly obeyed, the wicked queen's persuasion powers wiping out all thoughts in their head and leaving them with just what she'd ordered. They walked away from the scene to get some coffee while Queen Bee sauntered away, keen to get back to base and out of her clothes. The only thing left in the corridor was the sound of bodies collapsing onto the floor and strangled cries of agony as the men continued to murder each other, helpless to stop themselves...

* * *

But Queen Bee wasn't the only one who was working deep undercover and fooling someone either.

Completely invisible to the man that was with her, M'gann stared hard at the figure of Brian Beaumont as he watched the live coverage of the attack on the college, with Nadjia giving updates on what was going on. From what M'gann could see of Brian, he looked like he was trying his hardest in holding in his anger, his lips closed tight as was his fists as he listened to what Nadjia was telling everyone on the TV.

"It seems the attack is over. No casualties have been made, though the criminals responsible for this have gotten away again. Though I can inform you Armand was rescued by Ladybug and her new friends, and he's gone back to his podium and continued his campaign. He gave thanks in regards to Ladybug and her friends, saying he is glad to have had seen that no matter what, the heroes of Paris are always there for the civilians and will have his backing no matter what."

Brian groaned as he quickly picked up the remote and turned it off, leaving only him to walk over to his desk and picked up his phone. M'gann watched closely, her eyes focussed carefully on what Brian was doing. She made sure to bring a recorder with her, knowing well this could be useful in gathering anything to get him arrested. She didn't like what she tried to find when she saved him from yesterday's attack, just electronic sounds coming from him when she tried to get a scan on him. She looked on as he put in a number, which she followed as him hitting two ones, then a eight, then five twos and a single five. Listening in, M'gann kept quiet as she heard him talk on the phone as it was answered.

"I just saw the news...he clearly isn't dead nor is he calling off his campaign! You should've thought twice about sending Psimon to get this job taken care of...Have I grown accustomed to being like this? Well of course, at least I get to express my frustrations more clearly! I even lost support of the Rossi's because they've gotten scared for their little one...Yes...I understand, our last resort will have to get used instead. The data-mixer will have to do. As soon as the votes come in, I'll use it." he said, his voice turning more relaxed as he pulled a laptop out from under his desk, which M'gann noticed had a lightbulb on it with the slogan "Brightening Paris' Lights". She had to not gasp or she would have caught his attention, nor could she make a sound.

It was time to leave, and she was thankful she could easily slip through ceilings as she did so, silently passing up through into the roof, where she kept her cloaked state as she flied back to the hotel. The pieces were all there now, and this would certainly put them a step closer to stopping them all.

* * *

Back at the Light's base, Psimon and Kagami were both standing side-by-side and keeping quiet as Vandal Savage berated them for their failure in killing Armand D'Argencourt. The two had dreaded how he would react to yet another failure, and so soon after yesterday's failure no less, and had expected severe punishment. So far, the most Vandal had done was just lecture them. He didn't seem in any mood for extreme violence or torture to make them realize how severe this was.

"I gave you two a task so simple that even a lesser criminal like Kite Man could've managed it," Savage said grimly, "And you couldn't even do THAT right. The Light prides itself on recruiting the best and only the best. Were we mistaken in taking you two into our organization?"

"Cast your eyes over to this pathetic child next to me!" Psimon spat, "You entrusted her with a sword that can mimic anyone's weapon and despite having such a powerful weapon, she's failed to make good use of it! At least I was able to grab Armand and nearly throw him to his death! And I was the one who got us out of there before we could be arrested!"

"Don't pin this on me Psimon. You're just as responsible for this failure as I am." Kagami retorted, "Maybe if you were smart enough to just use your powers to immediately knock them out instead of showing off with those fancy copies of yours, we would've succeeded."

"Are you implying that I'm stupid?!" the telepath snarled.

"Lady Shiva would prefer I use a more sophisticated term like "intellectually inferior". She thinks the word "stupid" is too childish to use." the ninja girl muttered.

"You watch your tongue with me young lady or else I'll reach into that head of yours and suck you dry!" Psimon growled.

"You will do nothing to Kagami unless you want to answer to me." Savage cut in. His voice had been soft and he hadn't shouted, but there was enough of an edge to his tone that Psimon could feel the anger and seriousness in there without him needing to be more transparent about it.

The pale criminal turned away and said nothing more, preferring to keep his head on his shoulders. Now the bickering was over, Vandal turned to Kagami.

"You two needn't worry too much. Not everything has been going wrong for us." he said softly, "Queen Bee reported to me that she has successfully silenced the captured assassins in Parisian custody. Our secrets remain safe and we will continue undiscovered for now."

"As you'd probably say: Shadows still conceal our Light." Kagami acknowledged.

"That's right my child. You're certainly getting used to our ways." the immortal man approved, "So Kagami, can you tell me what you've noticed about these heroes, if anything at all? Maybe you've even narrowed down their identities for us."

Kagami nodded, her face full of thought as she remembered back to when she was in the school. It was something she noticed and Vandal needed to know.

"While I was there, just as Armand came in, I noticed one of the children ended up leaving. She was with a large group of her friends, the same ones I spied on near the bridge. She had orange hair and glasses. It's rather interesting she left as soon as Armand arrived and shortly enough the heroes arrived to save him when we attacked. These same children seem very fond of Ladybug and have worked with her before, so I'm guessing they could be the new heroes we've been facing. Here's a photo I took." she told the powerful man as she showed him the photo she took on her phone, narrowing the image down onto the class.

Vandal raised an eyebrow out of interest as he took it in, with a smile rising on his face.

"Hmm, quite a bunch, yes. And I can see the girl you mentioned. Either she's one of them or an informant." he pointed out as he gave the phone back to Kagami, who looked confused at him giving it to her.

"Aren't you going to do anything about them? I mean, if they are friends of Ladybug and one of her new friends, you'd want to handle them?" she asked with a raised eyebrow of her own. Vandal nodded as he turned from her, his eyes full of planning.

"Indeed I will. It's something I'm sure Queen Bee can handle when she comes back when I inform her of this. Though I'm interested in your thoughts on this, Kagami." he pointed out as he looked to her, his face soft as if he was showing concern for her, "As you mentioned, this group of children is the one that child, Marinette, sticks with. You might have to face the possibility of not only realising she could be helping Ladybug, but you might meet her soon. Let that settle in...a chance family reunion, a chance to test if you are related." he reminded the blue haired girl, who looked stunned at what he just told her, her eyes wide and her mouth hung open in silence at what this meant.

She looked down at the photo, her mouth closed thin as she realised he was right...this was a chance for her, but a chance that indeed Marinette could be her enemy as well as her relative.

She was left to her numb thoughts as Vandal looked to Psimon, a smile on his face.

"You might've failed to kill Armand, but you did help Kagami in narrowing down who the heroes are. Be proud of that for a change, for you helped a child." he said in a slightly more mocking voice, leaving Psimon looking really unsure of how to handle that, his eyes wide and his teeth gritted, a mix of confusion and anger...

* * *

In the hotel, it was a different feeling altogether.

It was a mix of lightness but there was a shallow feeling too. Nino was laying on the bed with Alya giving themselves a rest from the fight and chatting with their Kwamis, Bart was having a conversation with Alix and giving Fluff a smooth, while Lila was talking to Pollen, who was giving her praise in her work in fighting Psimon, though Ladybug was still in a more sour mood as she and Chat Noir stood with Kaldur, who looked more soft as he talked over with them.

"You should not be disappointed in yourself. Yes, they escaped, but you saved Armand and he's continuing with his campaign. You and your friends did well on your own without Tim and Stephanie directly helping you." he assured her, only getting a small smile from the red heroine.

"Yeah...I'm sorry, it's just after stopping Joker, Grail and Darkseid, I just thought we'd get to arrest more of these guys, but they are still out there, ready to send out another sneak attack." she told the hybrid Atlantean, who gave her a sympathetic look.

"You will face these struggles a lot, but getting angry over it won't help. What counts is that the people of Paris still look up to you and they still know you can protect their lives." he said in a more wise voice that left a look of confusion on Ladybug's face.

"You really think so?" she asked, not sounding sure of what he just said to her.

Bart then appeared next to her and Chat Noir, a remote in hand.

"Uh, yeah! Look at the news!" he said brightly as he pressed the button that played the paused TV that displayed the face of Nadjia Chammack, who began to speak after being paused.

"It seems our heroes have been hard at work at protecting us again. As you can see from footage of phones from civilians, Ladybug swung in and saved Armand from being thrown to his death. The cheers from the crowd were easy to tell that when our lady is out here with her boyfriend protecting us, they always remind us we are forever protected." she said brightly as footage was shown of Ladybug swinging in and saving Armand, with the loud cheers from everyone outside filling the air, leaving her wide eyed.

Chat Noir smiled, seeing a certain glow coming to his girlfriend's eyes. Alix gave her a beam as Alya stood up and walked to her.

"Yeah. And look, the bad guys don't always get put in prison, but the more we push against them, the less places they have to hide." she told the blue haired girl, who smiled back to her.

It was then Tim, Stephanie and Conner walked through the door, all of them looking really bright.

"Waited for them to arrive, and it seems like they've got some info on narrowing down where the Light might be." Conner told them as he sat on the bed, Tim nodding.

"Yeah, we got some stuff from the school's CCTV. We found Psimon's disguised look from when he attacked. We followed back from where he came into the school and it seems like he was coming up from the back streets." he informed, getting a loud gasp from everyone, who all started listening to what they said.

"And because of my boyfriend's skills, he gotten into the other cameras of the buildings around the school. It all leads back to the rougher side of Paris, so we might head out with our big guy and do some scanning with him." Stephanie added, getting a nod from Conner.

"Yeah, though if we find everything, can we keep it stealthy? I'm not up for causing some destruction." he said, clearly not wanting another fight like he had with Black Manta.

"If that's the case, we could always inform the police and get them to help capture the Light. Roger sure seemed eager to arrest them when he arrived." Lila then spoke up, having noticed how the officer was when she last saw him. Ladybug looked unsure on that as she turned to Lila.

"I'm not sure...we could have them on standby, but I'm not really wanting them to go running in there. Having gone up against these guys, they could easily kill Roger and his officers and I don't want anymore bodies of those we're trying to protect." she said to the Italian girl, whom Pollen gave a smile.

"At least itwas an idea, and we might use half of the plan you went with." she assured, getting a smile from her.

"Yeah, I hear ya".

It was then, though, that M'gann came through the door, looking more serious than she usually was, and for good reason.

"Okay, I don't know about you, but we have really gotta stop Brian from getting to become mayor." she said as she fully settled, getting a raised eyebrow from Nino.

"Yeah? What did he say that gotten you to hate him as much as we do?" he asked humorously, only for M'gann to look more serious as she faced everyone.

"It's because he's working for the Light, that's why." she told everyone, who looked wide eyed at what she just informed them of. Chat Noir gave her a hard look.

"He...he is?" he asked, his voice clearly not liking it.

She gave him a nod, making Ladybug and Tim walk up to her.

"What exactly did you learn?" the latter asked.

"I've got it all recorded, but I saw him watching the news coverage of what was going on with Armand. He wasn't happy, so he got on the phone and told whoever it was on the other side that Psimon failed and they had to go to their last resort, a data mixer, which will give him more votes when they all come in." she told them, getting a groan from Ladybug.

"Should've known. He doesn't like heroes, he wanted to control us, it was all there...we'll need to arrest him very soon!" she stated, looking to everyone around her.

"Hold on...we can't go and do it now, we have to expose him to the world. Do it right when the votes come in. And we gotta catch the Light at the same time, so they don't send in any henchmen to rescue him." Alya spoke up, her voice being full of reason and smartness, something Kaldur ended up nodding with.

"Indeed. We can't just go running in and arresting him and we can't let the Light slip away. As Stephanie said, we will do a scouting around the back streets of Paris to find them. Another half of us will have to go on standby to arrest Brian, but only when we've cornered the Light." he pointed out to them.

"Okay, but we'll need to plan this carefully. Um, Tim, you got a plan figured yet?" Ladybug asked him. Tim nodded in response, a smile on his face.

"Yeah. It's all coming to me. Voting results come in tomorrow, we'll need someone at the podium to arrest Brian...I've got it. Okay, listen carefully, because every one of us will have something to do when we go in on this." he told them, his voice sounding clear of what he had in store for them, getting everyone's eyes on him as he started to explain what he had.

For the French heroes, they couldn't help but feel a slight turn in their nerves. A light feeling that made them feel glad that it was all going to get over soon...

* * *

Of course, others had plans of their own. Vandal always planned things and he couldn't help but thank Kagami for what he had come up with. He wasn't standing alone for long as he was soon joined he Queen Bee, who was now back in her clothes she was more comfortable in. She gave him a nod.

"You required me to come to you, Vandal. Might I ask what it is?" she asked, up for what he had called her for.

He smiled as he turned to her, looking like he was about to ask a simple question that anyone would do while spending time with friends.

"I ask you this, Queen Bee...how are you with driving a bus?"

* * *

_**Our heroes seem to have a plan. But the Light also seem to have a plan. What do they need a bus for? What's going to happen when the voting results all come in? Will the Light be exposed or will our heroes end up in their grasp? All this and more next time...**_


	12. Chapter 11: Come for the Ride!

_Chapter 11: Come for the Ride!_

A new day had come over Paris, only this time the bright sun did little to brighten the moods of anyone in the city, especially those hard at work in the deep battle going on for the fate of the city.

The light lowly shone through the blinds of the hotel room the Young Justice were staying in, casting only a small light over Kaldur's face as he was watching news coverage on Tim's laptop, with its owner and Marinette standing closely with him, all of them looking serious as they saw what the news was displaying, of Nadjia standing in front of a building with several body bags being carried out.

"It is unknown exactly how this was allowed to happen, but all criminals arrested in the attempted assassination of Brian Beaumont all committed mass suicide. They've not revealed how they did it, but according to those who found the bodies, it was like they opened a door to a execution cell. Two officers who were guarding the criminals are being questioned, though they have not said anything. More on this news will get updated, though this is very unnerving and shows just how determined these people are at wanting to hide their secrets."

Kaldur paused the video and turned to Marinette and Tim, his eyes almost unclear of what emotion they were giving off, though his voice kept hold of its hard level.

"This is clearly the work of Queen Bee. Just from hearing of those two officers being unable to talk of what happened is enough to tell me she told them to kill themselves. She must've told the officers not to tell them of her time in there." he shared, getting an agreeing hum from Tim, though Marinette looked confused.

"How though? She's a queen, how would they not recognise her?" she voiced her own thoughts, getting a wave of a finger from Tim.

"She might be a Queen, but not a famous one. She can disguise herself as a normal looking person and whatever person she ends up talking to, they won't question her. She is as deadly in the field as much as Shiva." he explained, making her wince.

"Now that's scary, someone living among us that can easily tell you to kill yourself, and no one can even recognise her." she groaned, though Tikki plopped onto her shoulder with a more brighter look on her face.

"Just keep in mind with me around, it'll be harder for her to try that with you. Me around is enough to hold off her control." she told her good friend, who smiled at the helpful words from her.

"That's great." she said brightly as she gave her a smooth, turning as they saw Stephanie walk in with Bart, the former looking slightly annoyed.

"Sorry, just had to stop speeder here from eating up all the chocolate and creamy croissants. Wouldn't have been anymore left." she said, getting a whine from Bart.

"Oh c'mon, I've been stuck in here for a day on surveillance, there's no other way for me to please myself!" he moaned at her, getting a giggle from Marinette.

"He's not coming over to my place then, already giving away food to someone already." she whispered to Tikki, who giggled.

Tim smirked at Kaldur as he stood up and flicking a finger on Bart's face "He's your responsibility again, Kaldur, he's ran my girl tired before we've even found the Light." he chuckled as he led Stephanie away from Bart, who pouted as he sat next to Kaldur with the typical folded arms of an angry kid.

"We'll get ourselves ready, Conner is waiting in the lobby. You'll need to get yourself to the podium with Adrien and M'gann." Tim reminded Marinette, who nodded at him.

"Yeah, just need to wait until I hear Adrien has left Master Fu's." she said as she got her phone to check her messages as Tim and Stephanie went into one of the rooms, only to frown as she saw a message box came up from Alya. Tikki, being ever so interested in phones, peeked closer and her eyes widened as she read it out.

"A school trip organised by Miss Bustier to keep us out of danger? And she's not sure about going?" she read, looking to Marinette to see if she had an answer to it already.

"Well, school did announce it'd be closed until the threat level has gone down, but I guess Miss Bustier is being just as thoughtful as ever. Still, must be hard for Alya to try and deny going, given how new she is to this, then there's everyone else who might feel more happy to have her around." she said more to herself, gaining Kaldur's interest.

"Surely she can come up with an excuse, she knows of the plan to meet with us in the back streets." he pointed out to the blue haired girl, who looked at him with an unsure look.

"It's not that easy, again she's new to this, and everyone feels more relaxed when she's around. She can come up with a last minute excuse though, and I'm sure Miss Bustier will listen." she said to him before turning to her phone.

"It'll be hard to rearrange our new plans if they don't come." he reminded her, only to get a groan from her.

"Well this would be easier if we had our own little superhero phones that we could use to talk to each other when we're not being superheroes. But I know she will come up with something." she said as she quickly texted a reply to her friend, telling her she wouldn't be coming. Tikki smiled though, giving her a rather cheerful look.

"Just think though, Marinette, when the Light are forced to leave, you can finally tell Alya and the other chosen you're Ladybug, and Adrien is Chat Noir. You will have your team fully completed because of it." she told the blue haired girl, who nodded a little more nervously as she put her phone away.

"Yeah, still figuring how we'll do it. Then there's how they'll react to it. Will they get angry? Especially Lila..." she made a key point to her little friend, who beamed.

"You'll know how to do it when you have to." she assured as Tim and Stephanie came out of their room, dressed in hoodies and a pair of rucksacks on their backs, holding their outfits.

"We're ready, so we better get moving. You know where to go, Marinette." Stephanie said as she opened the door to the hallway, with Marinette slipping on her red coat and gently putting Tikki in her pocket, knowing it was time to go back out in the open, and putting the hood up was the last thing she needed to add to the obscurity.

* * *

It was a different story outside the school, for not only were there armed police outside the school's entrances, there was very little activity, with only the students of Miss Bustier's class grouped closely outside as they waited for the school bus to come and get them.

Miss Bustier herself had the kind of face that suggested she was uneasy with so much security around her and would be all too happy to get out of here. The kind teacher wasn't used to this kind of scenario and felt intimated by the appearance of the police. It felt as if she was standing in the middle of a crime scene despite there being no obvious crime committed around her. She still kept her kind and supportive demeanour up as she gently ushered the children towards the bus.

"Now, now students, let's not make any fuss and all get on the buss please." Miss Bustier said softly, her pleasant voice helping to ease some of the tension the students could feel.

Miss Bustier may have organized the trip, but she still felt bad about having to usher everyone into a bus with so much security around. It was bad enough that Paris was being surrounded by terrorist attacks from some kind of villainous force that made Hawk Moth look like a baby by comparison but now they have to treat the situation as if they might be targets next! Bustier still cringed as she thought back to yesterday's attack on the school when a pale-skinned man knocked everyone out and tried to kill Armand D'Argencourt. As a political candidate for Paris's new mayor, he should've expected to be a target and now the school was a huge security risk because of him. Why did that prideful fool have to put his foot in it like this? Miss Bustier tried not to think about it as she carried on getting students into the bus.

As for Lila, Alix and Nino, they saw Alya running towards them after her chat with Marinette. Nino embraced his girlfriend happily, glad that she would be joining them on this bus ride out of the school. Alix just shook her head in annoyance.

"Hey Romeo and Juliet, save the hugs and kisses for after we get outta here, OK?" she sighed, "The driver won't wait."

"Sorry, I just really needed that right now." Nino said sheepishly, "So what were you just doing Alya?" he asked.

"Texting Marinette." Alya replied, "I wanted to let her know about this whole trip we're going on. I still feel like we should try to make some kind of excuse to avoid tagging along." she muttered, "Ladybug and Cat Noir might need us for the Light's next attack, should they strike again."

"Yeah, we do have to try and stick to the plan we went over yesterday, and we didn't have to come." Nino responded quietly as they headed towards the bus together, so as not to speak so loudly to get the attention of everyone of their friends in the bus.

Already seated were Ivan and Mylène near the front, the latter resting her head on her boyfriend's shoulder as he kept an arm around her as if he was protecting her. Nathaniel was sat on the other side, gazing out the window with a more sullen look on his face and Sabrina was keeping her head down, fearful of anyone seeing her.

Alix nodded towards the back, something her three friends followed on with and went right there. Once they were seated, Alix leaned over towards Alya and Nino and pointed at the back door, smiling.

"We can always sneak out. I don't think Miss Bustier saw us get on, we can jump off as soon as the bus starts." she whispered. Lila whistled.

"Now that is something I'm up for. Just have to sneak off as soon as they drive further away, then we can go and meet up with the others." she said eagerly, getting a little head plopping up from her bag.

"Now that'll be something! We still can be helpful and stay with the plan in that regard." Pollen said brightly, getting a smooth from her carer.

"You bet. Just glad my parents have pulled out from supporting Brian, hearing their pull out really pushing him off really left me cheerful." she said brightly.

It was then that Kim and Max came on the bus, the former not as enthusiastic as he usually was, but he was grinning when he saw those sitting at the back.

"Whispering about anything I need to know about?" he asked as he sat in a seat ahead of them, getting a shake of a head from Alya.

"Nothing for you to know, meaty." she responded, only to get a similar response from Max.

"Not buying it, clearly you have something in mind." he pointed out. Nino giggled and waved his finger.

"My dude, it's just gossiping about the new heroes. You gotta see them in action yesterday, and I can gladly say the vixen girl has the eyes of plenty of boys." he said, getting a daring smirk from Alya.

"Not got feelings for someone else, have you my babe?" she teased.

"You know that I only have eyes for you Alya." Nino replied sweetly, draping an arm around Alya.

Kim only smirked in response, glancing over to Alix and taking notice of her rolling her eyes at them again.

"You know, if you can't stand the two turtle doves here, you can sit with me instead." he offered.

"Nah, I like the view from the back. I'm fine where I am." Alix said bluntly.

Of course, she didn't want to move as she and the others deliberately wanted to sit at the back so it was easier for them to get away unnoticed. She breathed a mental sigh of relief when Kim shrugged and turned back in his seat for Alix worried she might have offended him. She wasn't that fond of Kim but she didn't want to make him feel bad. She had to admit that the superhero life was having a positive effect on her for it seemed to be making her more compassionate and considerate of people's feelings. It felt...good in a way. Was this how Ladybug and Cat Noir felt whenever they did good deeds, saved people's lives and shared kindness to others?

The four new superheroes all stared ahead as they watched the bus driver take her seat at the steering wheel. The driver appeared to be a black woman with long black hair tied in a ponytail and dressed in a white and blue uniform. They didn't recognize her but that wasn't anything to worry about. None of the school children ever paid much attention to bus drivers anyway. They just came and went and were as interchangeable as trading cards as far as they were concerned. But Alix spotted the first signs that something was wrong as she glanced out of the window. Her eyes narrowed in confusion as she saw Miss Bustier just...standing there and not getting on the bus with the students. She wasn't moving and seemed to have this vacant look on her kind face. That was not like her at all to just stand there and daydream, not when something important like this was happening. Lila leaned over to see what Alix was looking at and mirrored the sporty girl's confused expression.

"What's going on? Why Miss Bustier just standing there?" the Italian girl questioned.

"This whole trip was her idea! She should get on too." Alix agreed, "And what's with that expression of hers? It's like she's forgotten where she is!"

Then things started to take a turn for the worst as the bus doors closed and the driver turned around to face the students. She gave them a cold smile that was anything but reassuring. It was the kind of smile a crocodile would give before he sank his teeth into his prey.

"Students, you will stay seated and not move." she commanded.

Everybody on the bus did just that. They all sit still and didn't move. The only movement on the children was the occasional blinking of the eyes. The only ones who weren't effected by this strange bit of magic were the new Miraculers. To them, it was like a cloud had briefly hovered over their heads only for them to shake it off at the last minute. Alya turned to Nino with her spectacled eyes wide with fright.

"Did you guys feel that? It was like somebody tried to get in my head and make me do what the driver said." she whispered.

"Yeah, it was like totally freaky!" Nino hissed back, "And the driver...her face looked familiar to me."

"That's because we've seen her before." Lila said under her breath, "Remember when the Young Justice guys showed us pictures of the Light? I think...that that's Queen Bee driving the bus!"

That was enough to make them all feel nervous. Queen Bee, the member of the Light with mind control powers! That explained everything. She'd obviously told Miss Bustier to stand there and not come on the bus and now she'd mind-controlled everybody on the bus into staying sat! But why was she here? And kidnapping schoolchildren in broad daylight no less? As tempting as it was to try and escape, the four new heroes knew that a better idea would be to stay put and find out where this plot was going. Maybe they could find some interesting information to pass onto Ladybug and Cat Noir. The quartet of schoolkids gasped as a sudden jolt told them that they were in motion. The bus was pulling away from the school and nobody was daring to stop it. Maybe they thought Queen Bee was a real bus driver or she mind-controlled everybody to stay put and not interfere, they would never know for sure. The long vehicle pulled away from the school and entered the road. There weren't many cars ahead so the bus was able to drive away at a decent speed and quickly leave the school behind as if keen to get away as quickly as possible. Alya, Nino, Alix and Lila didn't doubt for a second that Queen Bee really did want to get away as fast as possible.

As a member of the Light, she wouldn't want to waste any time when it meant carrying out an important mission. Where would she take them? And what would she do to them? Would she mind-control them into committing suicide? Make them her puppets to carry out an assassination? Expose Ladybug and Cat Noir to the Light along with Young Justice? There was no telling what would happen and it made them all feel more scared than they'd ever felt since the time they'd been prisoners of the Riddler and used as part of his sick games. Alya in particular was amazed she wasn't having a heart-attack with how fast it was pounding right now. She glanced ahead to make sure Queen Bee wasn't looking at her and then slowly slid her hand into her pocket. She took her phone out and opened up the message box. Nino nodded, comprehending her plan right away.

"Good idea. Let the super-duo know what's happening." he agreed.

"I hope they can stop this bus before we arrive at our destination, wherever that is..." Alya said cryptically as she quietly texted Marinette. She knew she could count on her best friend to help out, although she had no idea that she would do so in more ways than one...

* * *

Marinette was stirred out of her thoughts as her phone suddenly vibrated in her pocket. She drew it out quickly to see what was going on. She was currently roaming the streets, disguised in her coat and waiting for the signal to make her move. At first, Marinette thought it might be Tim or Steph telling her it was time but she quickly saw it was from Alya. Tikki poked her head out of Marinette's pocket to see what the message was.

"It's Alya." Marinette confirmed, "I wonder if she managed to find a way out of going on this trip?"

As she read the message, her heart sank so far that she could swear she felt it slam into her intestines. She dropped her phone in horror, her face going pale at the horrible news. Tikki grew concerned for her holder and shook her face to try and shake her out of her frightened slump.

"Marinette, Marinette! What is it? What's happened?" she squeaked frantically.

"It's Queen Bee...she's got them!" Marinette whispered hoarsely, "She's the bus driver and she's controlled everybody to stay sat! She's gonna take everybody to the light, including our new super-friends! Oh no Tikki, what will happen to them when the Light gets their hands on them?! Vandal might find their Miraculouses and take them for himself! And what if Queen Bee makes them talk?!" she cried, the fear in her voice rising the more she panicked.

"Don't panic! Whatever you do, don't panic!" Tikki exclaimed, "That won't save our friends! Take a moment to calm down and think this over! You'll know what to do!"

Marinette stood herself still for a moment to breathe in and out. Tikki was right, getting scared too wasn't going to help, she had to think this over. Right now she was on her own, but that wasn't enough to say there was nothing she could do. She flexed her fingers and looked down to her phone, seeing the answers were all in there. She looked to Tikki as she swiped it open.

"M'gann will have to handle Brian on her own, she'll know what to do." she said as she pressed on her boyfriend's name in her phone, not seeing Tikki smiling a little.

"She can handle Brian in more ways than you can think." she whispered as Marinette held the phone to her ear, soon getting an answer. Before Adrien could greet her with a hello, Marinette let it all come out.

"Adrien! Oh gosh, l-look, we need to go, Queen Bee has kidnapped our friends, and Alya's with them! They're on a bus!"

From where he was, Adrien was near the podium that Brian and Armand would be appearing on to get their results, with a small number of people already arriving. He wasn't alone, for M'gann was with him, disguised as a human. She listened in and could hear Marinette's voice as if she was standing next to them right now. Adrien's face went wide upon hearing the information he was just given, to the point where his whole body went numb from it. Plagg poked his head out from his pocket and looked as nervous too, looking to M'gann after seeing how frightened Adrien looked.

"Quick, use your tele-thingy to tell he rest of you buddies!" he yelled.

The Martian was already on it, closing her eyes as her mind stretched out to her friends. She found them all, each one highlighting among the many grey figures from her mind.

"If you all can hear me now, our plans have changed. Queen Bee has kidnapped some of the children from Marinette's class, including our new friends! Kaldur, what are your orders?" she asked, trying to stay as calm as she could, though everyone could hear the intensity in her voice.

Adrien could see M'gann was already onto getting a answer from her friends. His muscles tightened, as he realised he hadn't answered Marinette. He just needed to find a right answer for her...then it hit him like a brick. He looked to his phone and his eyes lightened in realisation. Putting it to his ear, he gave Marinette an answer.

"Mari, listen to me, we can track their phones. We can follow them to wherever they're being taken to. We need to transform to cover more ground and go faster in finding them." he informed.

He could hear her gasping, already imagining her eyes widening from the other end of the phone. She had to stop herself from squealing as she responded.

"Adrien, you're a genius! Quick, pass this onto M'gann, she can tell the others! I-I'll meet with you soon!" she said.

He nodded as he turned his phone off, knowing he'd have to leave M'gann.

Turning to the Martian, Adrien could see she had pulled from her conversation, her eyes now open. She looked to him with a serious expression.

"Kaldur is gonna leave with Bart, he'll meet with Tim, Steph and Conner. You'll meet with them and use your phones to find your friends. I'll stay here and handle Brian." she told him.

He looked a bit glum as he realised he'd have to leave her.

"You gonna be okay handling Brian?" he asked in concern. She smiled and pointed at herself.

"I'll know what to do. You go save your friends." she said in assurance, before cocking her head to a nearby street corner for him to go.

Adrien didn't need to be asked again. He ran off to find a suitable place to transform into Cat Noir and make his way over to try and save his and Marinette's friends before they ended up in the Light's custody. M'gann watched him leave, her eyes full of concern for her new friend's classmates. Knowing the Light, they couldn't have anything good planned for those poor kids. She was heavily tempted to join Ladybug and Cat Noir in their rescue mission but she knew that wouldn't be necessary. Her teammates would help enough with that. She still had to deal with Brian Beaumont.

"I bet he might have some useful information that we could use against the Light..." she muttered to herself as she went on her way.

* * *

Meanwhile, Queen Bee had driven the bus through much of Paris, weaving through roads and heading off in directions that took it further and further away from the heavy traffic that the city was known for. Not only did this make the journey much faster than what was usual expected from a bus roaming through Paris, but it meant there would be less witnesses should anyone chance to see this bus full of schoolchildren going somewhere. Even if anyone did take notice of it, they'd just assume it was a school trip and think nothing more of it. Alya had spent the whole trip looking out the window with her hands gripping her jeans so tightly that she could feel her nails on her thighs despite the material. She had been fighting harder than anyone else to keep control on the ride, getting increasingly more nervous the longer the trip went on. While looking out of the window, Alya had made a mental note of where they were heading. They'd passed several landmarks and gone through several streets she didn't really know. Now they were approaching a place that even though Alya had never been to it before, she knew what it was.

The bus turned to the right and headed down a road that took it to the Chemin de fer de Petite Ceinture train station. Long since abandoned, the station was a nostalgic relic of the times of the stream train and many Parisians debated on what to do with it in its long time of inactivity. Alya's face fell into a grim frown of begrudging respect. The Light really were as clever as Tim and his team made out. Who'd think to look for a bunch of kidnapped school kids in this place? Nino leaned over and whispered into Alya's ear.

"Something tells me this is our stop." he muttered.

"You know what, I was beginning to have the same thought." Alya whispered back, "An abandoned train station is certainly a good place to take kidnapped schoolchildren to. It'd easily be overlooked."

"I bet the entire Light themselves are in there." Alix said, a slight edge of anxiety in her voice, "If so then we're seriously screwed!"

"Not if we can help it..." Lila murmured, glancing down at Pollen, who was still hiding in her jacket.

Alix, however, gripped her wrist and shook her head.

"No, we can't, not here. They might have more soldiers of theirs hanging around and could easily take us down, or kill our friends if we try to fight them." she whispered, her voice shaking slightly as if trying to keep her voice in a quiet tone without getting too scared. Lila stared at her like she'd grown another head.

"But they can't get their hands on our Miraculouses." she whispered back.

Fluff, however, poked her head out of Alix's little cap, pointing at herself.

"Not on me at least. Alix still has the right idea: sneak out through the back and she can get Ladybug to help." she whispered quietly as the bus came towards the entrance of the station, fitting well on the railway lines. Alya couldn't help but smile, giving it Alix as she took in what her Kwami just said.

"We are at the back, and you can teleport. You can easily get out and get back in." she whispered.

Alix couldn't help but feel a smile of her own come over her face when this hit her. She knew she'd have to act fast when it came to it.

For the others, though, they weren't feeling so confident. Mylene had hidden her face from Queen Bee by burying her face into Ivan's shoulder. The poor girl already felt like she saw this as goodbye, though the best she could do was cling to her quiet boy, thinking it was best they'd die together.

Sabrina was trying hard not to scream, as images of Chloe's ruined body was already dancing over her eyes. Was this gonna be the same? We're they going to strap bombs to them and blow them all up? She wanted her dad more than ever...

Nathaniel was too scared to even move. He'd cling to his book for comfort, but even then he was too scared to do so, like if he did, someone would shoot him. He could only wonder if this meant Chloe was gonna great them after what these monsters would do to him and the others...

Kim, for once, didn't have an ounce of energy to try and come up with something funny. He just knew what this meant, and all he could do was stare at his feet in numbness. Max felt like his head would pop as he tried to figure so many ways of trying to get out, but all the while he was trying not to cry as he ended up realising he wouldn't get out.

Juleka and Rose clung to each other like their lives depended on each other to survive. The goth girl looked more scared than ever and Rose looked as if she might faint. Neither of them wanted to die now, not when both had been hoping to finally confess their love for one another.

The doors opened from the inside and they felt their bodies freeze as the dark of the tunnel swallowed them up, ready to deliver their ending...

Once the bus had escaped the light of day and entered the tunnel, the terrified students were plunged into darkness. It was as if a giant, black blanket had been thrown over the bus, the only source of light coming from the bus's headlights. Alya glanced down at her phone again to see if she had received a response from Marinette after she'd texted her. Her phone displayed the dreaded symbol that told her the worst: no signal. Her friends showed the same grim faces as they checked their phones.

"Tunnel must be blocking the signals." Lila muttered, "I guess we're on our own for now."

"At least until Alix can escape." Nino whispered back.

Alix nodded, knowing full well that the safety of the children quite literally rested on her shoulders. She couldn't help but feel nervous about the whole thing. How did Ladybug put up with such heavy burdens like this? What was it like for her and Cat Noir when they were in a situation, knowing that so many lives were in their hands? It was a miracle that they didn't go crazy after something like this weighing on their minds! Alix was determined to show that same courage they had now. If they could manage despite the huge risks, then she could to. She could get captured and lose her Miraculous but it was a risk that had to be taken, for everyone's sake. It all depended on the right moment to sneak away.

For a couple of minutes, the bus kept trundling through the dark tunnel. Then as it turned a corner, Queen Bee saw the tell-tale signs that she had arrived at her destination. Bright lights shone welcomingly to her, almost like they were inviting her out of the darkness and into the light, an apt metaphor for the Light's nefarious goals to do the same for mankind. The bus passed by the lights and came to a stop in a spot that had clearly been set up for it to park. Queen Bee stopped the bus and got to her feet. She turned around and gave a simple command:

"Everybody leave the bus and stand in a line in front of it."

The helpless students did as they were told, rising up out their seats and marching in unison out of the bus and into whatever dark lair they'd been driven to. The only one who didn't follow that command was Alix. She waited until Alya, Nino and Lila got up out of their seats, pretending to be under Queen Bee's control, and then ducked down behind the seats in front of her to avoid being spotted. Queen Bee ushered everybody off the bus, seemingly unaware that she'd missed somebody. Then Alix made her move, sneaking out through the emergency back door before anyone could see her. She opened the door as quietly as possible, knowing the slightest sound would give her away. The door opened and Alix slipped out. Queen Bee didn't notice anything, her attention still fixed on the rest of the students. Now she was in the clear, Alix ran off quietly towards the tunnel they'd been travelling through. She would wait until she was halfway back through and then transform. Nobody would spot her then. The sporty girl felt guilty at having to essentially abandon everybody and leave them behind. But it was for the right reasons. She would help the heroes of Paris and their new friends find them in here, then they'd all be rescued and the Light would be defeated for good.

Meanwhile, Queen Bee had ordered the students to put their hands behind their backs and was using a bunch of zip-ties to bind them together. In case any of them happened to be superheroes, Vandal had suggested tying them up so they couldn't reach whatever they used for their powers. If anything, it made it hard for any of them to fight back if they were foolish enough to try and attack. Alya, Nino and Lila watched as Queen Bee bound their friend's hands together, even more sickened at how cruelly she was treating them. How could anyone act this way to adolescent boys and girls like themselves? They were tempted to just transform and attack Queen Bee now but that would be suicide. They'd just give themselves away right there and put their friends at risk. Queen Bee could mind-control them into fighting them, or even kill themselves. They had to stay put for now.

The three Miraculers pretended to still be under Queen Bee's control as she approached them and bound their hands behind their backs too. Now she was finished, Queen Bee smirked at the frightened school children as if the sight of them tied up and frightened was something that brought her great pleasure. She always loved seeing people show fear in her presence.

"I understand children that this was an unscheduled trip." she purred, "But do not worry, you're in good hands here."

"It certainly doesn't feel like we're in good hands!" Alya spat defiantly.

"One more word out of you young lady and I'll command you to smash your own head against the bus." Queen Bee muttered coldly.

Alya kept her defiant glare up but said nothing more. It just felt good to say something at least, show that she was still in control and that Queen Bee couldn't influence her so easily.

"As I was saying, you're all here as honoured guests for my good friends here." the Bialyan woman said darkly, "And one of them is a man that will soon reshape the future of mankind. I only demand that you show your respects to him my dears. Now please, allow me to introduce you to my closest ally, and the mastermind of this plan himself: Vandal Savage."

A huge shape stepped out of the shadows and into the dim lights of the lair as if he'd miraculously been on cue for this introduction. The children all gasped as they took in what they were looking at. They had never seen a man look so huge and powerful in their lives. Kim couldn't help but envy his muscle structure, wondering what workouts he did to become so strong. Rose and Juleka shivered, wishing they could hug each other for comfort for the man's face looked just as evil and frightening to them as the Riddler's did when he kidnapped them. Alya, Lila and Nino shuddered, feeling disgusted at the fact they were now meeting Vandal Savage in the flesh. He looked repulsive in his pictures but seeing him up close somehow was even worse. Lila let out an Italian curse word under her breath while Alya and Nino turned to each other in worry. Things just got that much worse now the head man himself was here. Ladybug, Cat Noir and Young Justice had to hurry and fast!

"Greetings children." Vandal said, his voice soft and welcoming but his posture firm and military like. It created a bizarre picture of a man who tried to sound friendly, but didn't bother looking it too so his gentle voice seemed very unnatural coming out of such a stiff, disciplined mouth.

"I do hope that you enjoyed your ride here and that my associate has treated you...fairly." Savage purred, sarcasm dripping in his voice as he said that last word.

Everyone was too nervous to say anything, even the Kwamis hidden in the bags and little pockets were too scared to say anything that would've been met with utter hostility from the man, who raised an eyebrow at the silent response. He turned to Queen Bee, smiling.

"As usual, a frightened child has two ways of showing their fear, in silence or panic. These ones clearly embody the former. They will certainly behave well." he noted to her, getting a little chuckle from the queen of Bialya.

"A lot better than the children I often put up with. Still, they'll be as mindless as a the others when Harvest sees them." she pointed out to him, getting a delightful smirk from Vandal as he heard several footsteps coming from the dark behind him.

The captured students had to resist being sick as they were greeted with the sickening sight of a grossly hideous monster in the form of Harvest, who breathed deeply with a hint of joy mixing in with it as he looked upon the captured children, his hands and fingers flexing with horrible crackling of his bones that made them all cringe. He was joined by Shiva, Kagami, Psimon and Black Manta, making them all lower their heads, not wanting to look into the eyes of these people. They lowered their heads even further as Harvest talked.

**"Ohhhh, quite a bunch you have here, Vandal. I look forward to corrupting their soft souls when you hand them to me!"** he hissed in delight.

They all caught sight of Vandal giving him a little pet on the back.

"Indeed, my dear friend. But what's important at the moment is finding those Miraculouses they have. Ladybug and Chat Noir are among them and I desire their ones the most. Of course, you can gladly have the others when we find theirs." he said lightly, making the kids glance at each other in shock.

"Wha? O-one of us might be Ladybug?" Rose asked nervously, with Alya, Nino and Lila sharing a similar nervous look, not wanting to give anything away. Juleka shook her head.

"Not me." she whispered, only for Shiva to pull her head back hard and made her cry out, Kagami doing the same to Rose.

"We will decide on that." the former said as she and Kagami tied a blindfold around the two girls, covering their eyes. Kim was next, making him yelp as well.

"H-Hey, what's this for!?" he yelled as he had his eyes covered, Max having his covered as well.

**"Once we've identified who is who, we would like to present to you who it is that put your lives in danger and how they failed at saving you. It will devastate you all."** Black Manta said coldly, not really caring that he was going to end up hurting a lot of children. Ivan has his eyes covered after Mylène, leaving Nathanael next.

"What are you gonna do, search us? You don't even know what they look like!" Ivan yelled, remaining hard with his words even with his eyes covered.

Vandal smoothed his fingers over his medallion, his eyes twinkling in admiration as he looked down at it.

"With this. It can trace any magic on anyone." he answered, his voice light as he gave it another smooth before watching the blindfolding continue.

Alya held off a gulp as she was the last one to get her eyes covered, hoping Alix would hurry up before Vandal would find them. She didn't want to know what that Harvest creep had in mind for them...

Far back in the darkness of the tunnel, Alix looked around and could just make out a wall she could lean against. She let out a few gasps of breath, letting Fluff fly out from under her cap. She gave her little friend a pained look, her eyes full of bitterness.

"I can't believe we just left them...I need to hurry up before they do whatever to them!" she whispered, getting a smile off Fluff.

"You stuck to the plan so far, you need to complete it. I'm ready to give you the power up you need." she assured, her voice full of it.

It was a if she just gave Alix herself a bit of a charge, for she gotten a smile from her and stood up, looking at her with more strength in her body now.

"You got that right. Let's get out and crash this party of theirs!" she said gladly as she stood ready, "Fluff, Clockwise!"

* * *

Outside on the roads, the two Miraculous users had already united with Spoiler, Robin and Superboy near the back streets, soon joined by Impulse and Kaldur, who were already dressed in their hero gear. Robin looked to Ladybug and Chat Noir with a sympathetic look.

"I'm sorry your friends gotten kidnapped, you two. We'll save them as soon as we can" he said softly. Ladybug nodded as she pulled up her yoyo, opening it up.

"I tracked their phones to around here. Its signal vanished just down this street towards that road over there." she informed. Superboy shrugged and rolled his eyes.

"Well we can't just stand here, move." he ordered, crouching low as he led the way to where Ladybug pointed out the signal to.

"It's possible they have signal blockers, but Superboy can help narrow their location down further." Kaldur told the two as they came towards the wall, where they found it overlooking railway lines. Impulse didn't look pleased with this.

"Can Superboy find anything down here?" he said.

Superboy groaned, not liking Impulse's words.

"There couldn't have been a train here, though, these railway lines look way too old. No sign of a bus either, they couldn't have just swapped from a bus to a train." Spoiler then pointed out, not liking the lack of either a bus or a train.

"Well I'm not just standing around here, we gotta keep looking." Chat Noir told the purple clad girl as he got out his baton, going to extend it to try and get a better look at where the bus could be.

But he didn't need to, for a bright blue light ended up flashing down on the railway that filled their eyes. When the light died down, they all saw Bunnyx standing there on the railway line, gasping as she took in the air, glad to have gotten out of the tunnel. The sight of her made a smile spread over the faces of Ladybug and Chat Noir, who jumped down to meet with her.

"Bunnyx! Y-you got out, how!?" Ladybug asked, her voice getting louder as she reached her.

"Gotten out through the back of the bus, but everyone's been sent to Vandal." she informed as the rest of their friends jumped down.

Ladybug and Cat Noir gasped in horror, dismayed that their worst fears had come true. Of all the things that had to happen to their friends, why this?! Robin and Spoiler exchanged grim faces, having feared the same thing as Ladybug and Cat Noir themselves. The whole situation had become more desperate than ever now that the Light's leading man was on the case.

"Just what we feared...the old caveman himself is on the scene!" Spoiler spat, "We must be reaching the climax of their sick scheme if Savage himself is here!"

"And whatever it is he's planning to do, I have a nasty feeling that those poor kids will suffer the most out of anyone!" Robin cried, "We have to get into that station and get them out of here now!"

"What can you tell us about where you were taken Bunnyx?" Ladybug asked quickly.

"Not much really other than the bus took us through that tunnel right there," the time-travelling heroine pointed at the tunnel they had been taken through by Queen Bee, "And the lair itself just seems to have a lot of lights around. I dunno if Vandal has anyone else with him but I bet he's got the whole team with him."

"I'm willing to bet the grim reaper himself's with him." Spoiler concurred, cringing at the thought of Ladybug's classmates having to meet Harvest face-to-face, "If he is, then those poor kids really are gonna have to say their prayers..."

"Then let's not waste a minute more!" Cat Noir exclaimed, "Let's go before the Light can do anything to our friends!"

Kaldur stepped forward with his hands raised, looking at them all with his face as sharp as ever.

"We will go in, but we can't go jumping in at once. We need to make this fast and get the children to safety while keeping the Light away." he pointed out, making everyone freeze where they were. Impulse, however, beamed as he pointed to himself.

"Well, you say fast, you've got me going." he said with a grin, a plan of his own forming in his head, getting interested looks from everyone.

* * *

Back in the tunnel, Vandal had finished with Rose and Juleka and now moved onto Nathanael, who kept his mouth tightly closed but felt his breathing go faster as he now heard Vandal was in front of him. He could feel some sort of heat coming off of the cave man, which only made his breathing get unsteady. Vandal's medallion glowed a light colour, looking like it was scanning him. It remained that colour until Vandal pulled back, looking disappointed with what his results.

"Still nothing. Still, plenty left for us to find any Miraculouses." he said as his eyes laid onto the remaining captured children, his eyes looking like they were stabbing into them with so much force you'd think he had already killed them and just left their bodies like this in a twisted presentable pose.

It was then, though, that his medallion went brighter, glowing a slight blue. He looked down and was amazed at what he was seeing it do, making everyone around him notice. Black Manta cocked his head.

**"Is it malfunctioning?"** he asked.

Vandal, though, shook his head, smirking as it hit him what this was.

"No, it's not. It means we have company." he told him, getting a lot of gasps from the captured children in front of him.

Shortly enough, a portal opened up, blinding everyone in front of it. Just as the light died down, a figure ended up running out of it in a red streak that ran all the way around them. He first right towards Manta, delivering a hard kick to his armoured gut that sent him flying across the room, before kicking Psimon in the shins, getting him onto the floor, before tossing Shiva and Kagami aside, finishing off his attack by grabbing Harvest by one of his wings and tossing him into Vandal, who grunted from the impact.

It was then others came through the portal, with Kaldur slashing his aqua blades forward, slashing across all the ropes that held everyone's arms down. Everyone stood up straight away, not wanting to sit around anymore. This was also the right time for certain trapped members to begin their fight back.

"Trixx, let's pounce!"

"Wayzz, shell on!"

"Pollen, buzz on!"

In a mixture of their own colours, standing there with with their strength and powers all up, was Rena Rouge, Carapace and Queen B, who were shortly joined by Ladybug, Chat Noir and Bunnyx, who all gave them a smile.

"Glad you stuck with the plan!" Rena said to Bunnyx, who gave her a pat on the arm.

Ladybug and Chat Noir quickly went to grab several of the others, with Robin and Spoiler going to help them. But someone got there first.

Harvest hissed as he flew to the air and swung his scythe forward in the direction of the heroes, the wave of it sending them all flying across the room, leaving them in a dazed state. Harvest then giggled as looked at the rest of the students as they tried to remove their blindfolds.

**"All of you here at once, all here to see my work...and who better to have as my own children?"** he gladly spoke as his scythe glowed red. Robin gasped as he tried to pick himself up.

"No...no, don't do it!" he pleaded, but it wasn't enough.

Harvest flew down and sent his scythe out, slashing right through everyone of the students that he had in front of him. His scythe didn't cut any of them in half, nor were there any screams...

Ladybug and Cat Noir had looked away in horror, not wanting to see the grisly aftermath they had anticipated would come from this. But the lack of any screams made them all look again to see what had actually happened. Robin's face fell, knowing before anybody else what had happened to the students. They all stood where they were, completely immobile and their eyes vacant, lacking any shine in them as if they could no longer see. They all looked...dead. Their bodies were still standing upright but there was no life in them at all. It was like they'd become zombies despite the lack of rotting flesh. The sight disturbed the Miraculous team. Not even Hawk Moth's worst akumas had been as unnerving as this. Ladybug gripped Cat Noir's arm tightly, making the feline hero worry she might pull it off in fear.

"What has he done to them?!" she shrieked.

"Harvested them." Robin replied bluntly, "Its what his scythe does...harvests the souls of his victims. The bodies are nothing but puppets to do his bidding now."

"And I thought horror movies were freaky enough!" Carapace exclaimed.

Harvest laughed with sadistic pleasure, stroking his scythe as if it was the most priceless piece of treasure for him.

**"So many souls...so many flavours to taste!" **he cackled, **"And so many puppets to play with too!" **

"Just as we promised old friend." Vandal said darkly, his face curled into a cruel smile.

He then stood forward, his composure still as dignified and disciplined as usual as if the earlier tussle hadn't happened. Ladybug and Cat Noir shot him a pair of glares that contained all the hatred they could feel for this man. They had never felt so much disgust for a single person since their hellish encounter with Darkseid on Apokalips. Vandal registered their scornful glares with merely a casual grin, showing that it took more than a glare to unsettle him.

"Greetings heroes of Paris, and Young Justice." Vandal purred, his tone pleasant and even as if he had invited these people for an evening meal at his place, "I have longed to meet the famous Ladybug and Cat Noir since my arrival to Paris. I must say...I'm fascinated as to how powers like yours have been granted to people so young." he sneered, "In my many centuries of life, I've never encountered heroes so young. The spirit of a child clearly burns brighter than I ever gave them credit for."

"When you're done philosophising Savage, we've got one demand for you!" Ladybug snarled, "Let these people go and give them their souls back!"

"If you don't, we'd be happy to show you what happens when you mess with a Miraculous holder!" Cat Noir growled.

Rena, Carapace, Queen B and Bunnyx all took their places beside their mentors, weapons in hand and ready to fight. Robin, Spoiler, Impulse, Superboy and Aqualad all stood together too, eager to have yet another throw-down with their sworn enemies.

"I'd quit while you're ahead Vandal." Robin warned, "You're hopelessly outnumbered. Your big scheme is over, you're finished!"

"An age old mistake that sadly prevails into the modern era: the premature action of claiming victory before you've actually won." Vandal tutted, "I assumed you children would know better. This is far from over..."

He turned to Harvest, who nodded evilly. He bore his sharp teeth into a hideous grin of pleasure as he aimed his scythe ahead of him.

**"My puppets...ATTACK!" **he barked.

The soulless bodies suddenly jerked into life again, their eyes glowing purple and their faces falling into a grotesque snarl of rage as they glared at their enemies. The two hero teams recoiled in shock. One minute the bodies had been lifeless, the next they weren't. And then...the enslaved students all pounced on the costumed crimefighters...

* * *

_**This is it! Young Justice and Team Miraculous vs. The Light! Who will emerge victorious in this epic tussle between heroes and villains alike? Will Harvest's hold on the schoolkids be broken? Will Vandal Savage triumph and get his hands on the Miraculouses? Join in next time to see the epic battle unfold...**_


	13. Chapter 12: Miraculous Super Brawl

_Chapter 12: Miraculous Super Brawl_

Ladybug and Cat Noir weren't new to this kind of experience. The reign of Hawk Moth's terror had forced them to fight their friends on many occasions in the past with the various times they'd been akumatized from Alya becoming Lady Wifi to Ivan becoming Stoneheart and much more. But this time was a lot more personal and serious to them. They weren't just fighting their friends, who were being forced against their will to fight them by Harvest, they were fighting to get their souls back after the fallen angel had stolen them. It had been one single swing of his scythe and now the poor students had reduced to empty husks that were nothing more than puppets for Harvest to play with. As long as he held their souls, he pulled the strings and the soulless children couldn't fight back against his control. To Ladybug and Cat Noir, this would be the closest they ever got to fighting the living dead.

They were glad that Young Justice was here to help out. They'd never have succeeded in a battle against the Light and their corrupted friends at the same time, even if Ladybug and Cat Noir had new recruits by their side. The whole scene was chaotic with fists flying, powers activating and heavy impacts making the hideout shudder as if the roof might cave-in on them. Heroes, villains and possessed innocents alike were trading blows with one another and the whole fight was already proving to be a fight that would challenge everybody on their strengths and abilities.

Ladybug and Robin were standing side-by-side with the French heroine spinning her yo-yo out and the American hero twirling his staff around. They were up against Kim and Max, who strangely enough seemed to be displaying the powers of their akumatized forms. Kim had a bow and arrow, presumably conjured up by magic, in his hands like his Dark Cupid persona and Max was in a giant mech-suit much like when he had been akumatized into Gamer. Kim fired several arrows at the two heroes but they blocked them with their weapons. Then they darted to one side as Max's mech-suit swung an arm down to try and smash them into the floor. The impact left a huge fist-sized imprint in the floor. Both Ladybug and Robin counted themselves lucky they were able to avoid that.

"How are they able to do this?!" Ladybug exclaimed.

"It's some kind of dark magic Harvest possesses." Robin explained, "When he steals the souls of his victims, he can grant the soulless forms powers of some kind to make them more powerful. They'll lose those powers once the souls are restored to their proper bodies."

"Then we try to get that scythe from him!" Ladybug declared, "If Cat Noir can use Cataclysm on it, he'll destroy it completely and set the souls free! Harvest will lose his puppets and we even the odds!"

"He won't be easy!" Robin said grimly, bracing himself as Kim took aim with his bow and arrow, "Harvest was always one of the toughest members of the Light in a straight fight! If we're gonna beat him, we have to fight smart and make sure he never hits us with that scythe!"

He then jumped aside as Kim fired an arrow at him. The Boy Wonder didn't want to know what would happen if the arrow hit him. Either it would just impale him like an ordinary arrow or it'd do something unexpected like one of Green Arrow's trick arrows. No matter what happened, it would be fatal if Kim hit. As Robin dodged arrows from Kim, Ladybug tried to join in and help him but she soon found herself having to worry about something worse than just her possessed friends.

The spotty heroine let out a scream of both surprise and pain as a huge shape barged into her like a charging Triceratops. Despite her Miraculous abilities protecting her from most of the blow, Ladybug still felt as if she'd been hit by a car as this thing tackled her. She then cried out as her attacker slammed her hard against the wall, knocking the wind out of her as her back slammed into it. Sandwiched between the wall and her opponent, Ladybug struggled to catch her breath as she squirmed in the grip of the one who'd charged into her. It was Vandal Savage who had done so, smirking as he pinned Ladybug to the wall with his huge arm. Then he clasped both hands against her head and threw his own head straight into it. Ladybug howled in agony as her skull collided with his, seeming to have no effect on Savage while leaving her hoping she wouldn't blackout from the hit. How could this man hit so hard?! Every blow he threw was like being battered by a sledgehammer! Savage wasn't done with his brutal beatdown on the French girl as he then swung his knee straight into Ladybug's gut, knocking the wind out of her again. If Ladybug had been depowered when the blow hit, she was sure she'd have died right then and there. Even then, she wondered if Savage might've broken a rib or two. Then finally, Vandal threw her onto the floor as if she was a valuable piece of pottery he wanted to break. Ladybug hit the floor and rolled onto her side, gasping for air and wincing in pain from her injuries. Robin had warned her and her team that Savage was nothing to sneeze at and now she was on the floor struggling to get up again, she could see just how serious Robin was about Savage's power.

Vandal strode up to Ladybug, dusting his hands off as if he'd just simply completed a dirty task that had taken no real effort to take care of. The look on his face radiated confidence and power, knowing that he was in control and that he couldn't lose this battle. Ladybug rolled onto her stomach to try and pick herself up, every muscle in her body wincing in protest as her injuries flared up. She was then pushed back down against the floor as Savage stomped on her back, his heavy boot feeling like a kick from a kangaroo to her. He kept her pinned down, grinding his boot into her back as if she was the bug her namesake implied and was trying to squash her flat.

"For the hero of this city, you really don't have much to offer." Savage sneered, "How did you ever keep Paris safe from threats in the past?"

"I've...got plenty...to offer!" Ladybug grunted, defiance masked on her face to show that she was far from out.

"Maybe so." Vandal said casually, "But I'd rather not waste any time to find out. Maybe when I snap your neck and take your Miraculous, I'll figure out what powers you have for myself."

He reached down and grabbed Ladybug by the neck. The teenage girl weighed nothing in his hands as he lifted her clean off the floor. His huge hand was like a powerful vice tightening around her throat, ready to squeeze the life out of her. Ladybug couldn't even try to fight back, too weak to so much as struggle against Savage. She decided that the best thing to do would be to stall for time, try to get Savage talking so someone could help her.

"Is...that what this is all about? You...and your goons infiltrated my city...so you could get my Miraculous?" she croaked.

"Not just yours, any and all Miraculous we could find." Savage crowed, "And how generous of you to bring six of them for us to take from your corpses when we're done. But it wasn't just about seizing your incredible power too. We decided to take advantage of the political fallout that came from your previous mayor's death. Paris is a city that'll benefit the Light's cause wondrously and the more hold we have on this tainted world, the better."

"I bet...that's why you...killed Mayor Bourgeois!" Ladybug cried, her voice becoming more strained as Savage's grip tightened.

The response she received was the last thing she expected. The immortal man's face broke into a chuckle that suggested she'd said something completely ludicrous. He seemed amused at such a wild accusation.

"My child, I make it no secret that I have killed many people in my life...but not this time." he admitted, "Mayor Bourgeois' death had nothing to do with us. It was just a happy coincidence for us that his death provided us the perfect opportunity to infiltrate this city for our own needs."

"And you think...I'm gonna believe you?!" Ladybug snapped angrily.

"It matters not to me whether you accept the truth or not. You'll be joining the mayor very shortly." Vandal sneered, placing his other hand on Ladybug's head, now one single movement away from snapping her neck in two, "Maybe then you can hear it from him that we had nothing to do with his death."

Ladybug, however, had a backup to this. She gurgled, making it sound like she was finished, letting her limbs sink to her side, her fingers resting just near her yoyo. From where he was, Chat Noir cried out as he tried to swat past Nathanael, who had a finger like dagger coming out of his hand. But what came next greatly stunned everyone, for Ladybug came to life, pulling her yo-yo from her side and twisted it, causing a bright glow to burst from it that stunned Vandal briefly and made him stumble back from how bright it was, making him let go of Ladybug, who spun her body over him and her Ladyblades shot out from her yoyo, appearing in her hands. She twirled as she landed and sliced her blades out horizontally, leaving two gashes into his back and large tears in his trench coat. Vandal merely winced at this before he launched a roundhouse kick towards Ladybug, who brought her blades up to block it. It wasn't enough to stop sending her skidding back, but it stopped any damage that kick could've done to her.

Chat Noir quickly leapt to her side after pushing Nathanael aside, his staff glowing as he glared at Vandal, who smirked.

"Ah yes, your lover. Forever at your side in many different holders. You might be the first couple of the holders to fall by my hands." he purred softly, as if this was a simple thing to him.

"Newsflash, old man, we put up with worse than you, and you'll be left with more scars than what you've already got!" Chat Noir hit back as he then struck his staff down like a spear and volleyed forward with an outstretched foot, only for Vandal to catch it and hang him upside down.

The cave man went to punch down into his groin, only for Ladybug to come in and slice her blades at his incoming arm, making him release Chat from his grip and stumble back slightly. The two lovers came to bring their weapons onto him, only for him to catch them both in his hands, before pulling them aside and kicked the two of them in the chest, sending them flying back.

Superboy saw this, so he quickly dodged an incoming rock like fist from Ivan, leaping over to the two heroes and blocked an incoming punch from Vandal, countering with an elbow to the chest and began to push him back. Rena and Spoiler quickly came to their sides and helped them up.

"We need to figure a strategy, we're getting pummelled!" the former pointed out as she dodged a arrow fired from Kim.

"I agree, we need to divide into two groups. You guys handle your friends, we'll handle the Light and keep them off your backs." Spoiler agreed, quickly sprinting over to Kaldur as he was locked in a duel with his father. Ladybug, Chat Noir and Rena pulled back, circling to Carapace and Bunnyx as they fended off Shiva and Kagami.

Black Manta and Kaldur were fighting hard, this battle just as savage and personal as every other encounter they'd had before. The two Atlanteans always fought as if this battle would be their last and this battle, both were sure, could well be their last. Black Manta had a pair of arm blades deployed and was swiping at his estranged son viciously. Kadlur dodged every blow but he knew full well he couldn't just spend the entire battle dodging his father's attacks. He had to strike first before Manta could land any meaningful blows. He used one of his Water Bearers to form the shape of a mace and he swung it around above his head. It created the effect he was aiming for as it made Black Manta hesitate and stop swiping at him. Now he was backing off, Kaldur had room to launch an attack of his own. He swung the mace at Black Manta, just missing as he jumped to one side. The mace hit the spot he'd just been standing on seconds ago, leaving a huge imprint in the floor. Black Manta retaliated by firing his laser eyes at Kaldur. Kaldur used his Water Bearers to make a shield to block the attack, but it wasn't enough as he was still pushed back by the terrific beams. He could even feel the searing heat of the beams against his hands as the shield took the blow. Black Manta then charged towards Kaldur, raising his arm-blades and swinging them down towards his son. The Atlantean formed a pair of swords and blocked his attack. The two pushed against each other, their muscles straining as they struggled. It always amazed Kaldur when he was faced with his father. How this man had strength compatible with an Atlantean was truly incredible. He refused to give-up as he pushed hard against Manta's blades with his swords.

**"You know too well that I'd rather you joined us." **Black Manta grunted, **"I'd hate to have to kill my own son. Cease this pointless fighting and join us Kaldur! Your place is with me, with the Light!"**

"Are you trying to convince ME of that, or are you trying to convince YOURSELF of that?" Kaldur retorted, his voice as calm and collected as ever.

Black Manta growled in annoyance and the blood-red lenses of his helmet began to light up, signifying another laser beam attack was coming. But he wasn't able to hit Kaldur for a pair of hands grabbed onto his shoulders and suddenly pulled him back, forcing his head up away from Kaldur and to the ceiling. The laser beams hit the ceiling and blew huge chunks of rubble down onto the floor below. Black Manta turned around, determined to kill whoever it was that had done this but to his shock, there was nobody there. So who had grabbed him like that? He got his answer as that same person climbed onto his back and thumped him on top of his helmet, causing it to ring loudly inside and make him grunt in pain from the loud noise.

"Hey, can you hear me in there? I got a message for Mr. Black Manta!" sneered the person who was clinging onto his back, "The message is that you need to sort out your family issues!"

Kaldur couldn't help but smirk at his teammate. It was easy to see why Robin loved Spoiler so much. Her goofball attitude and propensity for quips really did bring some light into these situations, no matter how intense. Black Manta swung around wildly with his arms, trying to shake Spoiler off of himself. He even reached over his shoulder to try and stab her with his arm blades but Spoiler moved her head aside to avoid them.

**"Insolent girl! I'll chop you up and feed you to the sharks!" **Manta bellowed savagely.

"Nah, I don't think I'd taste that great to them. Probably too sweet for them." Spoiler retorted, banging him on the helmet again.

Black Manta gritted his teeth as he tried not to let the loud ringing of his helmet put him off too much. His ears strained from the sound. Growling angrily, he then charged backwards towards a wall and slammed into it, causing Spoiler to cry out from the blow and let go of him. She slid onto the floor, coughing as she tried to get the wind back into her and Black Manta spun around, aiming to incinerate her on the spot with his laser beams. But Kaldur quickly re-joined the fight, leaping in and kicking him away from Spoiler. The purple-clad heroine picked herself up and stood beside Kaldur as Black Manta regained himself and prepared to continue fighting.

"And here I am always complaining about MY daddy issues..." she muttered.

"I've always found it funny that we can relate on such maters." Kaldur said grimly, "I hope you are still fit to fight Spoiler."

"It'll take more than smashing me against a wall to bring me down." Spoiler declared.

"Then we'll take him together. We'll gain an easier chance of victory that way." Kaldur claimed, "Let's bring him down once and for all."

Robin was up against Psimon, throwing out his Birdarangs at the pale man. He simply tilted his head to the side as they came closer, focusing hard to send them flying into different directions. He succeeded in doing so, watching as they implanted into the walls around him. He knew what was coming next, for he dodged an incoming kick from the boy, circling around him and pulling out a knife to drive it into his side, but Robin hit back by kicking his foot out and hitting Psimon in the shin, bringing him down to one knee, before the pale skinned criminal received a hard kick to the back by Impulse, sending him flying through one wall and leaving him in a dazed condition. Impulse wanted to make this quick, eyeing Harvest as he was in the air, the demonic man readying for a hard dive to get them all in one swoop.

Impulse ran from one side of the room to the other, going up on the wall and running along it at high speed before darting off it and giving Harvest a hard punch on the face, knocking him right to the ground, just several few feet from Queen Bee, who mostly kept herself away from the main fight as she held herself in high regards to even fight with her hands. But now she had someone in her sights as Impulse landed in front of Harvest, seeing his scythe was laying beside him. Not wanting the demon to grab it, Impulse went to get it first, but he found his foot just getting planted on the ground as he heard a commanding "STOP!"

Looking up, his eyes went wide as he saw Queen Bee striding towards him, looking pleased to see she managed to stop him where he was. His body was stiff from not being able to move, leaving him nervous as Harvest's large body took shape over his. Queen Bee patted his bony arms.

"Wanted a speedster under my control for a while. Can get jobs done a lot quicker than those excuses you made." she said softly as she eyed the possessed students, who were in a bit of a struggle against the Miraculous users. Harvest grunted.

**"They'll serve well, but I can still add another soul to my scythe."** he said simply, pulling his hand back as he was about to bring it down onto Impulse's head.

However, a Birdarang was tossed towards the two and it popped like a balloon as it got closer, covering them in smoke and blinding them. Robin swooped in and picked Impulse up, carrying him out of the smoke and getting him near a corner out of sight. He gave him a worried look.

"Impulse? You think you can move?" he asked.

"Not gonna be easy, but I can speed my cells up to get free of her command. I'll re-join soon, just help the others." Impulse replied bitterly, closing his eyes to focus on speeding up his molecules.

Robin gave him a pat on the shoulder before noticing Shiva going in to stab Rena from behind, so he quickly leapt over and drove his staff to the right, whacking it and sending it off course from its target. Shiva didn't look stunned, continuing her onslaught with her sword by swiping down at the Robin, who blocked the sword, but left his stomach open for her to kick it, knocking him back before he received a hard kick in the face, sending him sprawling on his side. Shiva smirked softly as she strode towards him, watching as he picked himself back up.

"You've gotten faster, dear Robin. Learned well from me." she hissed, only for him to shake his head.

"Nope, got it from Bats. Way better teacher than you." he hit back.

Shiva snorted before circling around the Robin, looking for a open spot to stab him at, but Robin knew her well enough for that was her plan. He dove to the right further away from her, making her frown at his movements, only to end up having to dodge a incoming toss of his baton, but this was enough for Robin to slide beside her and throw a kick to her back, grabbing his baton as she went forward and whacked one of her legs out, bringing her down to a knee. Shiva grunted as he circled her, smirking at her. She hated that look on him since she trained him, how his face he'd such lightness despite the harshness she put him through.

"My mask has this on recording. Your daughter will love this." he said smugly, making Shiva groan.

"Like I really wonder how she feels." she hit back as she then launched a foot towards his groin, wanting to wipe the smile off his young face by giving him an agonising hit, but Robin planted his staff between her foot and his precious piece, making her hit that instead, sending her back. Robin waved a finger as she stood up, both going at it again.

With the Miraculous heroes, it was going differently. Rena was fighting Juleka, who had grown a pair of large horns out of the side of her head, the goth girl firing thorn like projectiles from her hand. Rena mostly dodged the attacks, but did little to hit her. Ladybug noticed and jumped in, kicking Juleka in the chest and hitting her horns with her Ladyblades, sending her onto her side, giving Ladybug the opportunity to push her aside, looking to Rena when she did so.

"Rena, listen, you have got to hit them as hard as you can, they'll kill you if you don't!" she said as she then blocked an incoming laser beam fired from Myeline's mouth, pushing forward and landing her blades' butts into her head and knocking her to the ground.

"It's not easy, they are my friends! I can't just beat the crap out of them!" Rena called out, not seeing Rose coming up behind her with smoke emitting from her mouth.

She ended up noticing it though when Carapace whacked her in the face with his shield, knocking her back. He gave Rena a pained look.

"Girl, I don't like it either, but these aren't our friends right now. We gotta hit em hard!" he yelled, blocking an incoming punch from Max's mech fist. Rena groaned, seeing it was really gonna be that way until they were saved, so she volleyed herself towards Max's head and landed a kick to his face, sliding down by his back and whacked its legs, making it lose interest in Carapace as he went after her now.

Queen B, in the meantime, wrapped her spinning top around Kim's bow arm, trying to pull him down to stop him from firing his arrows, but he ended up pulling her forward and punched her in the face, stunning her for a moment. Bunnyx, however, quickly came to help, snagging her umbrella handle around his ankle and pulled him down to one knee and whacked him on the head with it, but he hit back by elbowing her in the leg, sending her back a bit, yet this allowed Queen B to strike him on the face with her top, giving Bunnyx the chance to knock him to the floor with a roundhouse kick. Queen B gave her a smile as she stood with her, eyeing Max and Ivan were trying to make a move onto Ladybug and Rena, but they flinched as they saw Superboy get tossed into them by Vandal, leaving them flattened in some way. They noticed Rose and Juleka recovering, so they went to keep them back from their friends.

Chat Noir was fighting Kagami, not wanting her to give his lady any crap like she did in the last lot of battles. She went into an onslaught on him, coming at him with wild strikes that she was sure would cut him, but he blocked them all really well despite getting backed into a corner, which he gotten himself out of by running his feet up the wall amd launched over her head, landing behind her and whacking her with his baton right on her head, leaving it ringing. His glowing baton then pressed against her armoured stomach, watching as it burnt away at the playing like paper. Kagami hit back by shoving his baton down and followed up with a headbutt, making him wince at the impact and making him crouch in pain, giving Kagami the chance to butt him with her sword handle, but this came to a stop when he grabbed one of her wrists and kicked her right the stomach, sending her skidding back from his hit. Chat Noir stood over the stunned girl, looking at her in confusion.

"Why are you helping these guys? You're a young girl, of our age...you should know what you do is wrong. Did they brainwash you or anything?" he asked, his words clear with his thoughts. Kagami shook her head.

"No brainwashing, kitten. It's how I was raised, to learn their ways and accept this is how the world is. I desire whatever life there is in society, but I fight the good fight for a better world." she said as her sword's gem glowed, making it form a copy that appeared at the other end. Chat Noir sighed.

"Nope, you're clearly brainwashed." he said simply as he jumped back from a circular swing of her blades, keeping his baton up to block her incoming attacks.

Vandal Savage smirked as he strode through the fight towards Superboy, who picked himself back up as he saw the caveman coming towards him.

"Your fight is futile, Superboy. Even if we lose today, we will fight another time and my goal will continue on even after you are dead. Why fight when I am forever and you are not?"

"I might not be forever, but the beliefs that Superman holds will be!" Superboy declared. He knew that the basis of his existence would've said the same thing.

He and Vandal Savage both threw a punch at each other, their fists connecting heavily and sending a spasm of pain shooting up their arms and into their shoulders. The punches were so powerful that both Savage and Superboy could swear they felt their entire skeletons shaking. As a clone of Superman, Superboy could punch hard but Savage's own enhancements at the hands of the meteor that had shaped him into who he was today allowed him to at least withstand a blow from him. If he had been fighting the real Superman, it would've been a slightly different story. Superboy and Vandal recoiled, trying to ignore the pain in their shoulders from the punches. Then they charged again, roaring viciously as Superboy leaned in for a tackle and Vandal clasped both hands together to slam them down on Superboy's head. The clone was a little faster, ploughing straight into Vandal's stomach and wrapping his arms around the huge supervillain. He whisked him off his feet and carried him across the room, throwing him effortlessly as if he weighed as much as a pebble. Just as he'd hoped, Vandal soared through the air and collided into Harvest, knocking the winged demon down on his side before he could attack again. In the resulting collision, Harvest dropped his scythe. Seizing his chance, Superboy leapt through the air and landed beside the weapon. He picked it up with the intention of snapping it in two to release the souls trapped inside. Unfortunately for him, Nathaniel saw this and stopped him from breaking the scythe by drawing a hole in the floor just where he was standing. He didn't even need a pen or pencil to do so, he conjured the drawing out of thin air with his fingers. Superboy cried out as he fell inside, dropping the scythe.

Rena saw this and tried to grab the scythe herself, only for Nathaniel to draw a grappling hook for himself to use. He snagged the scythe and whisked it away from Rena and into his hands. Then he tossed it back over to Harvest before anyone could try and take it from him. The demon caught it in his hand, his sharp teeth flashing as he grinned with pleasure.

**"Good little puppet! Serving your master faithfully as they should!" **he praised, **"Now take these heathens down so I may have more souls to reap from their bodies!"**

Nathaniel obeyed, drawing more images in the air to give himself something to use against the heroes. Ladybug decided to try her hand at seizing Harvest's weapon as she leap-frogged over Juleka and sprinted towards Harvest. She raised her Ladyblades high for a powerful strike to the head but the hideous creature saw her coming and shielded himself with his huge wings. Despite looking feathery, his wings were much stronger than they seemed, stunning Ladybug as she found she couldn't cut through them. Harvest then spread his wings out, throwing Ladybug off-balance and leaving her open for a scythe slash. In one swift move, her soul would belong to him. But in a split-second, Ladybug just managed to recover and block the attack. She was relieved that she'd been fast enough to stop him from slashing her. Ladybug pushed against Harvest's scythe but she knew that this was a losing battle. Harvest was no ordinary being and she could feel it in how his strength made even her look pathetic in comparison. Trying to push against him was like trying to push an elephant. Laughing maniacally, Harvest effortlessly shoved her back and knocked her onto the floor. He grinned as he prepared to rip Ladybug's soul out of her body a second time.

**"You want your friends back? Then don't resist me any longer! I only wish to reunite you with them!" **he crowed, swinging the scythe down towards her.

"How nice of you to offer," Ladybug muttered, rolling to the side so Harvest missed her once again, "But I like my soul where it is and I'd rather be back with my friends with their souls where they belong!"

**"A futile gesture." **Harvest sneered, **"You're no match for me, even with those fancy powers of yours! And with so many puppets at my side, you'll never keep hold of your soul!"**

As if to back-up this claim, he commanded Ivan to come over and give him a hand in subduing this meddlesome heroine. Ivan stormed towards Ladybug, his footsteps like thunder as if he truly was Stoneheart all over again. Ladybug sheathed her Ladyblades and used her yo-yo to trip him up by wrapping it around his legs and pulling them out from underneath him. He crashed down heavily on the floor but he wasn't the only one that the French girl had to worry about. She felt a heavy kick to her back that more startled her than hurt her as she was thrown forwards. She turned around only to see that nobody was there. It hadn't been Harvest who had kicked her because he was now flapping his wings to take to the air, presumably to avoid anyone targeting him again. A sound strategy as he'd be harder to hit if he was airborne. So who had kicked her? Wait...all the corrupted schoolchildren had the powers of their akumatized forms. What was Sabrina's again? Invisibility! Her akumatized form, Vanisher, could turn invisible! It was obvious that that was who had kicked her. She then felt something smack her across the back of the head, making her cry out in alarm. She swung her fist around to try and punch her invisible assailant but her hand swept through empty air. The spotty heroine forced herself to stop and think a moment. Just flailing around hoping to eventually hit something would be futile.

"OK, Sabrina's invisible again...gotta find a way to combat that if I'm gonna have another shot at Harvest." Ladybug mused, trying to think fast as she knew the pressure was on.

She stood still for a moment, using her ears to drown out the rest of the battle going on around her. She felt a cold rush go through her body as she listened, though Harvest chuckled at this.

**"Closing your eyes and hoping for it all to stop is useless, child."** he mocked, only to not get a response from Ladybug as she lowered her head, her ears picking up the soft sound of footsteps coming to her from behind.

Her eyes softly slid open and heard the footsteps getting louder coming at her. Ladybug quickly leapt in the air and sprung back, landing a drop kick onto where she could hear the footsteps and she made contact, causing a flash of purple to emit around the body of Sabrina, who slumped to the floor with a groan.

Harvest snorted as his eyes turned to Nathaniel, who was drawing up a rocket launcher to fire at Ladybug, who eyed Harvest with a hard glare, sliding her Ladyblades out from her side.

"I'm having my friends back, now!" she said coldly, not wanting to waste anymore time with him. Harvest chuckled as he gestured at her to come at him.

Ladybug was glad to follow up on his offer, beginning to run at him with her blades tearing up into the air, not seeing Nathaniel ready to fire...but it never fired, for Nathaniel was suddenly gone in a blur of red, shocking Harvest as he received a slash across his chest by the Ladyblades, sending him flying from Ladybug before latching his claws onto the ground, raising his wings to block another incoming swipe from her.

Impulse had ran into Nathaniel, free from Queen Bee's control after speeding up his cells. He slammed the possessed student into the wall and grabbed his finger.

"Saw what you did to my friend, so if I'm right, snapping this will do just the thing." he said, before bending Nathaniel's finger back.

No cry of pain came from his possessed body despite the bone protruding from his joint, and this was enough to create a similar hole that shot Superboy out, landing beside Impulse as he gave Nathaniel a hard punch, making him slump to the ground. Superboy gave Impulse a bright smile before both turned back to the fight.

"Okay, gonna need to change this up. Drive Manta back and it'll give Kaldur time to rethink a strategy." he told the speedster, who nodded.

"You got it, dude!" he replied as he got to work, with Superboy leaping over to Vandal to continue his fight.

The speedster zipped around the whole battlefield, avoiding those that would've knocked him off course before finding his target, Black Manta, who had elbowed Spoiler in the face and was bringing the full blast of his optics onto his son, who was blocking it hard with his water shield. Impulse leapt in, throwing his feet out and planting a hard kick into Manta that sent him skidding across the room and creating a deep trench in his path, coming to a stop at the wall. Seeing it done, Impulse ran back towards Kaldur, who had helped Spoiler up, shortly joined by Carapace and Bunnyx as they stopped Juleka and Max from getting a shot at the two, using his shield to block the thorns she was firing and Bunnyx using her portal to warp Max to the other side of the room so he ended up punching the wall.

"We need to break the stalemate we've got going here, dude!" Carapace yelled at Kaldur, who nodded as his shield formed back into his swords.

"Couldn't agree more! We need to get that scythe away from Harvest, destroy it as quickly as we can" he responded.

"I nearly had him if it weren't for Queen Bee, she's keeping back and only stepping in when necessary." Impulse replied as he quickly ran over to Ivan and kicked him aside to stop him from stomping on Chat Noir while he was locked in a struggle against Kagami.

Coming back, he looked to Bunnyx, who eyed Queen Bee as she walked around the fight, looking like she was pleased with the brutality around her.

"Then we'll bring the fight to her, and I know just the person to handle her. For Harvest, you leave him to me and Impulse." she said, her words straight and clearly telling of a plan she had in mind.

Chat Noir found himself having to roll around Kagami as she sliced her double blade towards him like a spinning wheel, following up with his own attack by whacking his baton towards her shoulder, but she blocked it and spun, lifting a leg in the air and throwing it towards Chat, who ducked and took her out of the air with a punch to her stomach, only for the girl to land on her feet and swung her blade at him again. Chat Noir blocked it in time, getting into another lock with her. Her eyes narrowed as she pushed against him.

"Even if you beat us, you will still have one of our own ruling over you." she hissed, only for Chat to push back with a smirk.

"Nah, he ain't getting in office, I can tell ya." he said as he pushed his foot out and gotten her leg, bringing her down to a knee, before following it up with a whack on her played mask that left her dazed for a moment, only for her to glare at him as she readied her sword.

* * *

Up in the streets at the podium, the mood was very different.

Unaware of the chaotic battle that was taking place in the abandoned train station, Armand D'Argencourt and Brian Beaumont stood together side-by-side as they awaited the results of their Mayoral campaign. In a matter of moments, it would be announced as to who would be next to receive the title of Mayor and fill in the void left behind by the recently deceased Andre Bourgeois. The tension could be felt from up on the podium as the crowd anxiously gathered around to see who the winner was. It was likely to be a close call but many felt confident that Armand was going to win. Brian's face remained neutral as ever, suggesting he wasn't even concerned at the possibility he could lose. If anything, he looked as if he was sure he'd already won and thus, there was no point in even announcing the winner.

But he would soon have something other than the results of the voting to worry about. As the results were about to be announced, Miss Martian was watching from a nearby building, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. She had tried to inform everybody that the results were about to be announced and she was ready to attack but had been forced to shut down her telepathic link because there was too much noise coming from the battle for her to concentrate. She couldn't even imagine what madness was going on with her friends and the Light right now. Were they winning or losing? She'd hopefully find out when her mission was over. The White Martian narrowed her eyes at Brian, uneasy at how blank his face was. How could anyone manage to look so lifeless despite not being dead?

"Soon be ready." Miss Martian thought, "Now to put on my own little mask to hide behind..."

She stood still for a moment and concentrated as her shape-shifting abilities activated once more. Her body changed from a green-skinned humanoid girl into that of a teenage girl in a skin-tight ladybug costume and blue hair. She took a moment to admire herself, liking how she looked in the form of Ladybug herself. True the costume was a little garish and the spots were a bit silly but it still looked good on her.

"This is gonna be more fun than I thought!" Miss Martian thought to herself, "It still feels wrong I have to pretend to be Ladybug, but anything to expose Brian as a member of the Light I guess."

She slid down the side of the building out of everyone's sight, coming to a soft stop as she landed before turning invisible, darting across the path that had several numbers of guards on either side of it. She was glad her invisibility quietened even her footsteps, so none of the guards could even see she was there.

Soon, she found herself at the back of the podium, where several people were keeping it together as they watched the results being announced up close to them. M'gann knew the crowd would be in for a treat though, once she got to work. She pulled out a rectangular key device from her yoyo, smiling as she quietly sneaked towards the harddrive plugged into the computer that was connected to the screen behind Brian and Armand. She began to upload the files just as the announcer looked to the screen, his own face looking stunned at what he saw.

"Uh...the winner of this election is Brian Beaumont, with a majority of eighty percent to Armand's twenty percent" he said in his microphone, not sounding pleased with what he was reading on the screen.

Armand and the audience looked dumbfounded and they gasped as they looked up at the screen, seeing it for themselves that indeed the results were telling them what the announcer revealed.

Brian smiled and raised his hands in self congratulation, before giving Armand a pat on the arm.

"It was a good battle we fought, mon ami. But you lost and I am the superior winner. You'll get a fair lot of words from me before you leave the podium." he said, not really holding down his smugness as the crowds began to cheer, making him look at them proudly as Armand stood there with his mouth agape, waving his hands at them with a smile...but the cheers were not for him as they grew quiet, while footsteps grew louder behind him.

He turned upon hearing this, seeing "Ladybug" coming towards him with a serious look on her face. Brian gave her a smile as he held out his hand.

"Glad you made it, Ladybug. Here to give me congratulations?" he asked politely.

"Ladybug" eyed his hand with a glare before looking to the crowds, walking past him to talk to them all.

"Everyone, I'm not here to welcome Brian into office! Why? Because he's not the new mayor! He scammed his way in, he cheated!" "Ladybug" announced to the crowds, getting a large number of gasps from everyone. Armand and the announcer glared at Brian, who just smiled as he walked beside "Ladybug", giving her a humourous look.

"Now why would you say that? The majority of the people voted for me, as you can see on the screen." he pointed out to her, only to get a shake of her head, which she turned towards the screen on the podium. It was then the screen had a file being put up on it, something Brian noticed. His eyes only went wide slightly as he saw what it was.

It was a video. A video of himself on the phone, in his office. The whole crowd and everyone on the podium went silent as they listened to the video. They watched him express his anger at Armand not getting killed, how he fell out with the Rossi's, and that he was going to use his last resort, the data mixer, to mix the results that everyone would've put in.

"Ladybug" watched on at Brian, smirking as she saw his smile fade and his shoulders tighten from what he was seeing. His face was stiff as he tried not to let his anger out, but she could see he was about to pop. She looked to Roger in the front of the crowd, calling out to him.

"You'll find his laptop in his car! Get to it and hack it, you'll get the real results!" she informed, getting a smile off of Roger as he and a few officers ran to get to his car.

"Ladybug" then looked at Brian and pulled out her yoyo, walking towards him with her eyes hard.

"Having seen what that logo means on your laptop, this only means your in association with the people that tried to kill Armand yesterday. For this, you're under arrest and you'll be put on trial. When the results are corrected, we have the real new mayor put in charge!"

Brian could only glare angrily at "Ladybug", his hideous face somehow managing to look even more grotesque despite the fact he was just frowning. He clenched his fists, clearly ready to rip the impudent teen-hero to pieces.

"I put my life's work into this campaign...and you're showing up, as self-righteous and sanctimonious as ever to take all that away from me!" he snarled, "I was right to campaign for the restriction of your kind...and when I'm done with you, the banning of all super-heroes will be the first thing on my agenda!"

He lowered his head and pounded towards the disguised Miss Martian like an enraged gorilla. Despite looking like a man who could throw a hard punch, the alien heroine knew that he was no match for her. She was tempted to use her Martian abilities to subdue him but decided otherwise as she could potentially give herself away. She had to keep up the pretence she was Ladybug in order to maintain Paris's belief in its hero. So "Ladybug" just stepped aside as Brian tried to grab hold of her and swung her leg into the back of his head. To her surprise though, a spasm of pain shot up her leg upon contact whereas Brian barely seemed to register the blow to his head.

"OW!" Miss Martian yelped in surprise, clutching her leg, "Geez, I knew you were thick-headed but I didn't think that you were LITERALLY thick-headed!"

"Oh my dear Ladybug, you should know full well that I'm not thick-headed at all." Brian sneered, his mouth twisted into a Joker-grin that made him look like he was fit for Arkham Asylum, "In fact...I don't even HAVE a head at all."

And that was when Miss Martian finally understood what should've been obvious to her and the team since day one of Brian Beaumont's campaign. Of course! Who else could convincingly pretend to be a human and hide behind a name that wasn't all that clever an alias but somehow fooled them anyway?! She watched on with a look of rage and disgust as Brian Beaumont's head split in two and folded away. Gone was the hideous scarred face of what had once bene a mayoral campaign. The audience gasped in horror as they saw what looked like some grotesque magic-trick carry out on stage in front of them. Even Armand recoiled, unable to understand what was happening.

"What vile villainy is this?!" he exclaimed.

Brian's head wasn't the only thing that had changed about his body. After the head had folded away, all that was left was a huge brain wired up in a jar that now acted as Brian's actual "head". He then clawed at his body, ripping off the suit he was wearing and even tearing the very skin off himself, revealing he was completely metal underneath and looked more like an android out of a science-fiction nightmare than an actual human. The body was solidly built with powerful looking arms and legs, clawed hands and feet and a red orb in its chest that glowed brightly now the disguise had fallen away. The audience screamed in terror at the android monstrosity before them with Armand scrambling quickly off-stage and the cops unsure of whether to shoot it or not. The thing could be bullet-proof for all they knew.

Miss Martian growled, unable to believe that they'd been staring at one of the Light's founding members this whole time and somehow hadn't clued in that was the case. It was like Robin had pondered, why did Brian sound familiar? Because it was an anagram of the word BRAIN, which was the name one of the Light's head members! It was a fake name that should've instantly clued them in who it was and yet they'd overlooked it! It was proof that sometimes going for the obvious DID get overlooked. It also explained why she'd never been able to read his mind and picked up weird electronic signals, the Brain's mech suit obviously had shielding to prevent telepathy from getting to him. Once again, an obvious clue to his true identity they'd somehow missed. It didn't matter now for the Brain had revealed himself and was clearly going to give her hell for this. To avoid giving herself away, Miss Martian gave a remark that she was sure Ladybug might've said if she was in this situation now.

"Huh, a floating brain in a jar on top a robot body. NOW I've seen everything." she scoffed.

"My dear child, you have seen NOTHING yet!" Brain gloated, "With this invincible automaton body I pilot, I have the strength and weaponry to destroy any superhero I face! Prepare to meet your former mayor again as I send you to him!"

He then charged up a powerful laser attack that would fire from the orb in his chest and incinerate anything in his path. "Ladybug"s eyes widened as she saw the red orb began to build up power, glowing brighter and brighter as it reached maximum level. And then with a mere gesture, Brain roared savagely as his android body fired the colossal laser beam towards his opponent, keen to reduce her to atoms for ruining his plans...

* * *

_**Things are going crazy with superheroes and supervillains locked in mortal combat and the big reveal that Brian Beaumont is really the Brain! Will our heroes make it out alive in this brawl with the Light? Will Miss Martian take down the Brain? Or will this be a big victory for the villains? Join us next time for the conclusion to the battles...**_


	14. Chapter 13: The Light Goes Out

**Special thanks goes to my co-writer, Reece Wooldridge for writing this entire chapter for me. I was sadly too busy to write with him (remember, this IS a co-op and it's not me doing it all, so he offered to write the chapter alone. All thanks goes to him for delivering this new chapter to you all. ^^**

* * *

_Chapter 13: The Light Goes Out..._

It was understating to state that it was all getting chaotic, for now there was a fight going on the surface, for M'gann now needed to put an end to the Brain while being disguised as Ladybug. She leapt aside from the laser blast and saw its deadly mark left where she was standing earlier, leaving nothing but a clean hole in the floor of the podium. The Brain made use of his new body, however, leaping over to "Ladybug" and kicking her right in the stomach, sending her flying back. M'gann didn't really feel any pain from the hit, but she had to keep up the hint that she was, crouching over and clutching her stomach. Yet this didn't stop her from sliding her hand down to her waist and reaching her yoyo, the Brain advancing on her with his canon ready to fire again.

The disguised Martian darted forward and swung her yoyo out, hooking it around his hand and dove beneath him, using all her strength to get him down on one knee before hitting him with a well aimed kick to his back that sent him flying right into the podium's technical drives, knocking them all over. The Brain, however, just gotten up and turned to "Ladybug" in such smoothness she could easily tell he didn't suffer from the hit. His head eyed her in interest, watching her.

"You really are more powerful, my dear insect. You will make my day as my first opponent who is keeping me on my feet. I'll be glad to make another copy when this is over." he said coldly as he came towards her again. M'gann spun her yoyo, giving him one heck of a look that told you she was really holding back from ripping his body down with her strength.

"You won't because you'll be going to prison, where you deserve to stay at!" she hit back as she charged forward, spinning her yoyo to go in for a new attack.

* * *

Underground things were still going on intensely. Nathaniel was knocked out along with Sabrina, but it was still a hard battle for Chat Noir was finding himself having to prevent Kagami from gutting him with her sword for she was making him use all he learnt from his fencing lessons. Robin was in a heated fight with Shiva, who was now picking up in trying to land more hits on him, though she found herself getting her attacks blocked by each defence he put up. Superboy was going all out on Vandal, both exchanging fists to the face and stomach, though Superboy had a trick on him that Vandal didn't, for he darted forward with as much energy he put into his legs and rammed right into Vandal, lifting him up into the air and sending him tearing through the roof.

Ladybug was fighting Mylène, dodging whacks from her tentacles and her laser beams from her mouth. She hated having to resort to beating the crap out of her friends' bodies but they had to, for they were now mindless puppets. Queen B was coming up behind her, whacking away more of Juleka's thorns firing at her with her spinning top, but she pulled her top back too far and hit Mylène in the face, making her screech in agony. Ladybug saw this so she threw her yoyo out and wrapped it around Juleka, throwing her right into Mylène and sending both flying into the wall behind them, stunning them.

Just as they turned to find new opponents, Ladybug and Queen B were faced by Rose, who smiled as her mouth let out a smoke of sorts that she began to puff out towards them. Ladybug quickly covered her face, not wanting to breathe it in, but Queen B was ready to whack her with her top. This wasn't needed, for the familiar blue portal of Bunnyx's opened and swallowed up Rose, before dropping her off onto Juleka's stunned body. Bunnyx then ran to Ladybug.

"Listen, we've got a plan, but you'll need to do as I say!" she told them both.

"If it means saving our friends, tell us!" Queen B asked.

Bunnyx smiled, knowing well Queen B could do what was needed.

It was a different story for another Queen Bee, for she was striding around the whole fight, looking on in pleasure at the destructive battle. It reminded her of the gladiator fights she had arranged back in Bialya, seeing which man or woman would be the strongest to serve as one of her many commanders. Yes, a brainwashed commander, but strong enough to carry out her orders. Seeing all this made her smirk, seeing a few unconscious bodies of the possessed students gave her an idea, looking at Nathaniel's body.

"Mindless husks can be easily used for my services. Harvest will have their souls in his realm, turning them into his own weapons. Might as well make use of their bodies when we've beaten their friends..." she said to herself as she reached a hand out to smooth through Nathaniel's hair.

It didn't get close for a spinning top wrapped around her wrist, making her eyes widen in shock as it then pulled her back, turning her to see Queen B, who unwrapped her top from her wrist and whacked it in Queen Bee's face, making her cry out in pain from the hit. The Bialyan ruler glared at her as she rubbed the scratch on her face, seeing Queen B spinning her top in a circular manner.

"Foolish little girl. You'll be among my many servants when I'm done with you. I wouldn't mind making use of your Miraculous when you're screaming for mercy!" she said coldly as she walked towards her. Queen B smirked as she stopped spinning her top.

"You want it? Come and get it!" she yelled, pointing at her hair clip.

Queen Bee smirked back as she stood in front of the girl.

"I will. Because you'll give it to me." she said softly, her eyes looking into Queen B's with deep seriousness.

Queen B stared back at her in confusion before she felt her body freeze up, her face dropping as her arms felt numb.

"Give...it to you?" she asked in a numb tone. Queen Bee nodded as she sent her hand out to her.

"Yes. Put it in my hand and sit down when you've done so." she said, her voice slightly hard in giving her order to the girl, who nodded back as she raised her hand towards her head, going to remove her hair clip that held Pollen. Queen Bee grinned, seeing that a weapon fitting of her name would be in her hands was just inches from her. She would make use of it in a face to face fight when coming up against more heroes in her way.

Yet Queen B's hand froze as her hand neared her hair clip, and it was then a smirk came over her face, her eyes looking right into the how confused Queen Bee, who didn't get time in voicing her words as Queen B only said one word.

"VENOM!"

Before Queen Bee even realised, the sharp stringer of the weapon shot into her stomach, letting out only a faint yelp as stiffness overcame her body. It hurt her more than she thought, for it ran all over her body in a rush, shutting down all power in her limbs and her brain felt like it locked up. She could only look at Queen B in wide eyes as the magical girl proceeded to strike her with her foot, knocking the Bialyan Queen right to the floor with a loud thud, lying there in a stiff state. Queen B looked down at her with a smirk that would've stretched over her face, trying not to laugh.

"You got dethroned, girl!" she told her before looking to Bunnyx with a nod, getting one in return as the Rabbit girl turned to Impulse.

"You got the order to everyone?" she asked, getting a smile off him.

"Did it just a second ago. Our guys are pulling back." he said, making them both look to see Chat Noir, Robin, Superboy, Rena, Carapace, Kaldur and Spoiler were coming back towards them, Ladybug standing beside her boyfriend as she stopped an incoming slash onto his head by Kagami.

She drove her knee into her face to send her back a bit. Impulse grinned as he winked at Bunnyx.

"My turn now, babe. Be back in a split second." he said with a cocky tone. He then stunned Bunnyx by giving her a little kiss on the cheek, making the rabbit styled girl freeze up at the speedy teen's lips touch. It felt like she had a burst of electricity go over her.

Impulse then did his bit, for all of a sudden, to everyone around him, he disappeared in a blur of red. For Impulse, though, everyone slowed down. He first went to Shiva, flicking her sword out of her hand with his finger before dragging her over to the far corner of the room. He then ran to Kagami, putting her arms behind her back and placing her in front of Shiva. Next was Vandal, grabbing him by his hair and throwing him back into the hole in the roof, then finally turning his focus to the students that were still standing. He ran up to them and kicked Max's feet out, bringing him down, before dragging him to where his friends where, following this up with the remaining teens, leaving them in a pile. It was done and the speedster ran back to Bunnyx's side, giving her a flirtatious smirk.

"Job done. Your turn now."

Bunnyx blushed and gave him a glare before looking to Harvest as he came flying in at the them. He hissed as he pulled his scythe back.

**"You only left yourselves open to complete my work, children! Prepare to join your friends!"** he yelled as he flew towards them.

Bunnyx smirked as she reached her hand out and opened a portal right between them, watching as the portal swallowed up Harvest, who screamed as he was taken by the light, before another portal opened nearby and dropped him right onto the floor, leaving him in a slump and dropping his scythe.

Bunnyx leapt into the portal she made and appeared beside Harvest, who groaned as he saw his scythe was now a foot away from him. He saw the white boots of Bunnyx running over towards the scythe, leaving him to cry out as he grabbed her foot and slammed her onto her front, making her cry in shock as she felt his hands grip onto her foot. Bunnyx looked back with a nervous look, but it turned to a look of gratitude as Ladybug jumped onto his back and stabbed him in the shoulders with her Ladyblades, pinning him right to the floor. She didn't cringe at the sound of the flesh being torn, she was saving her friend from the monster, who could only watch on as Bunnyx grabbed the scythe, with it still glowing with the souls of her friends. She looked to Carapace, who nodded.

With him ready, Bunnyx looked down to the scythe and slammed it onto her knee hard. She gasped upon seeing it snap right in half, the rabbit girl watching as the two ends lit up in purple. Smoke emitted from the snapped ends and poured out around her, hearing the cries of her friends inside the smoke. She and Ladybug smiled as they saw the smoke run right across to where their friends were piled up, all of them flying back into the bodies, which jolted and spun as they lost their demonic looks, turning them back to their normal looks. It was a shock for the transformation to their bodies though, so they remained unconscious.

Carapace could see the Light's members were recovering, Psimon climbing out of his crater after being knocked out from his earlier beating, so he got to his part. He jumped in front of his unconscious friends and slammed his shield down.

"SHELL-TER!" he yelled loudly, before a bright green light surrounded his friends, keeping them safe from anymore fighting that would be going on.

As this happened, Bunnyx saw the scythe disappear, turning to smoke. Ladybug gasped as Harvest slumped his head forward onto the ground, his body turning to the same colour as he went away in smoke, gone from the world. Ladybug pulled her Ladyblades up, staring at them in confusion before looking at Bunnyx, who also looked shocked.

"Did we...did we kill him?" The rabbit styled girl asked, now feeling a bit nervous at what just happened.

They didn't get an answer, for Ladybug saw red laser beams fire at them, so she quickly jumped in front of Bunnyx, getting her Ladyblades up and blocking the blast, which sent them right back to where their friends were, leaving them staggering. Chat Noir rushed in and grabbed both girls from behind to stop them from falling over. Kaldur got in their way as Black Manta came jumping at them, creating a water shield to block the incoming punch he was delivering to them, pushing his dad back from them before turning them into his blades.

The fight was now getting really heated, for now the Light had recovered from Bart's punch down on them, with only Queen Bee out for the moment. Psimon began to focus hard on sending out a hard vibration to the gathered heroes, trying to get them down on their knees, but Queen B hit him in the head with her top, making him stagger back. Vandal shoved him away and ran towards Ladybug and Chat Noir, but Superboy got in between them and punched him right in the gut, sending him skidding back.

Kagami then cut in, trying to slash at Ladybug, who blocked her sword with her blades, shoving her back and engaging her enemy in a hard slashing fight. Chat Noir jumped aside from a incoming stab from Shiva, who ended up getting a whack in the stomach from Spoiler, who then came in after her with a few hits at her stomach and chest driving her back.

"Since you tried to hit my boyfriend in the balls, it's only fair I fight nasty!" she said to the fighter, pushing her sword down and punching her right in the face, making the instructor stagger back from the impact, only managing to dodge another hit from Spoiler.

Psimon groaned as he stood back, seeing how the fight was from where he was. He felt really nervous as he saw that now, the Miraculous users and the Young Justice were now on the fight back against the Light. He heard a groan from nearby, making him look back to see Queen Bee was still on the floor, stiff and looking shocked at the injury she gotten. Psimon crawled over to her and tried to sit her up, but he found there was little he could do. He looked at her and then back at the fight, seeing Superboy and Chat Noir going all in against Vandal hard. He was putting up a good fight, stopping each punch and jab they threw at him and he got to hit some punches on them, but Psimon could see things were going grim for the organization. Now Robin was getting in on the fight against Shiva while Carapace was keeping guard of the unconscious children and Rena was helping Kaldur against Black Manta.

He grunted as he picked Queen Bee up, looking down at her with a hurt look.

"It's time we left. This fight is over." he said to her as he sneaked off to get things ready.

* * *

Up on the podium, M'gann had to really resist the urge of creating newer arms to punch the Brain off her, as he just used a laser shot to stun her and get her onto her knees. He had her by her neck and lifted her off her feet. He turned to the crowds of people that were still there, looking pleased that he had beaten the disguised girl.

"You would rather have someone as useless as this girl be your protector? For too long you have lost the strength and power in yourselves, for you hid behind others to keep yourselves protected. You hid behind other countries, now you hide behind this little girl, who I have here, all on her own, many deaths coming due to her being unable to save lives. Under me, your future is secured, for you will be powerful again!" the Brain said coldly, looking down on them all.

"Ladybug" tried hard to think of what she could do now without giving away who she was. Her eyes opened and looked upon her yoyo, which rested in her waist. She didn't know what else should do with it, it could only just swing and create shields...but it was an extension of herself. She could do what she wanted with it. Her eyes then widened as the Brain opened up his cannon again, putting it to her face.

"When you die, this city will forget you. Nothing but a girl failing at her job." the Brain told her as he began to ready his gun.

"Ladybug" though, smirked as she pulled her yoyo out.

"You're the one that's gonna fail." she said in response.

She then dropped her yoyo from her string and then shot it up to the Brain's body. It flicked as it hit his body, going right through it. The Brain jolted back as his body felt everything stop for a second, looking at the yoyo sticking right through his body like he just been stabbed. "Ladybug" broke free from his hand, before grabbing her yoyo and sending it right through his arm, which began to crackle in electricity as it spun around and aimed at his leg. "Ladybug" hit his arm hard and watched as a blast opened up and shot his leg right out, getting him down onto one knee from losing one of his legs, with the Brain watching on as "Ladybug" pulled back her yoyo from his body, spinning it right in the air above her.

"Ladybug" looked closely to see where she needed to cut through, not wanting to kill him. Having gone up against the Brain many times before however left her with enough knowledge to recognise what was his actual container. She saw the grey outer ring and knew where to cut. She spun her yoyo right under the grey ring and tore through it, making the Brain's head come rolling off, circling around to her feet. Planting her feet right on his glass, "Ladybug" looked down at the Brain, her face bright as she put her yoyo back around her. The Brain couldn't pull any expressions, but he voiced his anger.

"You...might've won...but you'll still fail in saving your friends!" he said loudly, enough for Roger to hear as he ran onto the podium with more officers by his side. He looked to "Ladybug", who shook her head.

"You wondered why I cam. here alone? Because the rest of my friends are saving the children you abducted. You're going to jail, and so will the rest of your criminal company!" she said in one heck of a hard tone that'd make one think she just became a judge and gave him his sentence.

Roger got her attention, though, having her look at him.

"Children? Y-You mean they might have my daughter!? Where are they?" he asked pleadingly. Realising what she was now having to handle, "Ladybug" grabbed the Brain and handed him to one of his officers.

"Keep him somewhere secure, don't let him out of your sight. For the children, they are in the Chemin de fer de Petite Ceinture. Chat Noir and our new friends are there, so send reinforcements to go and help." she told Roger, who nodded, his face now serious again as he got what he needed to know. He looked to the Brain and then pointed at the van nearby.

"Put him in there and keep guard. Don't let anyone in." he instructed in a serious tone. They nodded at their leader before taking the Brain away.

Roger turned to "Ladybug", his face still looking really hard as he began talking to her.

"I will need you to come with us, Ladybug, we need to handle them together." he told her. The disguised Martian whipped out her useful tool, launching it out.

"I'll see you there, officer!" she called as she swung off to the nearby rooftop, where she ducked down and turned back to her normal form.

Resting against the chimney, she peeked her head out from where she was and smiled. She could see the Brain was now in the van, kept back from the public, and Armand was now back on the podium, talking with the security. M'gann sighed, seeing she did her bit and saved everyone from the Brain's plans and now the proper new Mayor was where he was voted into. She now just needed to hear back from her friends on how things were.

* * *

Things were indeed getting utterly destructive in the Light's lair, for Superboy and Chat Noir were giving all they could against Vandal Savage, who was handling them quite well despite it being a two against one battle. The caveman easily swatted away an incoming whack of Chat Noir's baton before punching him to the floor with his fist, going onto catch Superboy's and pull it down hard. The half human clone respond with his spare hand to punch at Vandal, who caught it and kicked him down with a hit to the gut, yet Chat Noir was back on on his feet and hit Vandal across the leg, his glowing staff tip cutting through the trousers and leaving a small cut on his leg. But the caveman didn't even really notice it, for he wrapped his hand around Chat's throat and squeezed, making the feline hero struggle to suck in any air.

Vandal's strangle on him stopped when Bunnyx jabbed him hard in the face with her umbrella, making him let go of the blonde, who landed on his side, getting more air back int him after feeling like his neck was nearly crushed. To him, it felt as if he'd been grabbed by a pair of giant pliers. Bunnyx's help was cut down as Vandal grabbed her parasol and pulled her up from where she was before throwing her back, sending her right into the shield protecting her friends, leaving her winded from the way she hit it. Vandal turned to Chat Noir as he began to get up, going in to give one more punch, but Superboy came back up and punched the old caveman in the face, knocking him back from the blond teen. He climbed back to his feet and went to help Superboy.

Carapace ran to Bunnyx's side with Queen B running to them, their Miraculouses bleeping. Carapace helped Bunnyx up, seeing she was still stunned from the hit.

"You okay?" he asked worriedly. Bunnyx waved her hand at him.

"I'll live. But you two are running low on your Miraculouses, transform now and they'll know who you are." she warned him and Queen B, who looked nervously up at her hair clip.

"Yeah, and it's too far to run back to the entrance. Think you can get us outside?" she asked her.

The rabbit styled hero looked wide eyed and smiled as she realised that she would be useful.

"That's our only option. As soon as you get out, recharge and keep watch on these guys. I think this'll be over with soon." she said as she looked to the shield that was keeping their friends protected from the fighting.

Bunnyx stood up and used her hand to open a portal above the shield, but this wasn't going unnoticed by Shiva, who was trying to hold her own against Robin and Spoiler. She was not liking how this was going, and the last thing she was up for seeing was these children getting away again. The master martial artist then swung her sword against Spoiler's staff and shot her foot up into her face, sending the teen right onto her back. Robin looked shocked to see his girlfriend getting taken out like that, giving Shiva the chance to punch him right in the face before kicking him right in the stomach that left him hitting the wall behind him, stunning him for a good few minutes.

Shiva looked on as Bunnyx used the portal to close down on her friends, watching as they disappeared from the room, before using it to go on its side for Carapace and Queen B to get into. Shiva pulled her sword back and took aim as Carapace disappeared into the portal. She just needed one to kill, one would be enough to tell these children that they were not going down without killing one of them. She then threw her sword right out, seeing it come flying right at Bunnyx as the second of her friends went through. Shiva smirked as she saw the blade come closer to Bunnyx's back, wanting to see it impale her...but it then vanished in a blur, which then ran right into her and hit her with full speed, sending her flying right past everyone like a rocket, leaving her in a impact like crater in the wall that she became stuck to. Her face looked stunned while her body became stiff from the hit Impulse gave her, before she collapsed right onto the floor. Impulse smirked, looking back at Bunnyx as he threw the blade aside, watching as he got a grateful wave from the rabbit hero.

Ladybug was now up against Kagami, who had cornered the red heroine up against the wall, trying to push her sword closer to her chest to try and slice it open. Ladybug however pushed her foot on the wall and pushed against Kagami, sending her back from the red heroine, who jumped over her and slashed her blades over her helmet, cutting a piece of it off but not enough to have it all come off in one go. Kagami swung her sword around to cut her down, but the bluenette put her blades up and stayed still, pushing her swords down onto Kagami.

"You always ask me why I fight for them, then I ask you the same, why fight for a city of people you don't even know? A city of people that will get so easily scared and might throw you out to preserve its beauty?" she asked in a cold tone. Ladybug glared into her and pushed against her.

"I live here. It's my home, my friends live here as do many innocent people. I'll never stop protecting this city, for its the right thing to do. You aren't doing this for good, it's for evil. You know it." she said, looking into Kagami's eyes as if she was looking right into her soul.

The eyes were what did it. How they tore into her like it was picking her piece by piece to see what was going on in her that really made Kagami unlock her inner rage. It was the same way Shiva looked into her eyes, how she pressed on to get her to do as she said. Now Ladybug was doing it. But this time it felt more harsh. It was like she was being told off for her irresponsibility, by someone who actually knew what they were on about. For Ladybug was fighting for something that was there in her eyes the whole time. And this rage was something that couldn't be contained.

Kagami hit out, pulling both swords down and head butting Ladybug, sending her right back before launching her foot into the bluenette's stomach, making her cry out from the pain the armoured bluenette was delivering, with Kagami going to cut her now that she was on her knees. Ladybug, however, dropped her blades and caught the incoming sword, grabbing Kagami by both of her hands and pulled her down and using her feet to launch her off into the air. She grabbed her blades and watched as Kagami hit the ground with a stagger, before swiping the sword out of her hands by slicing her gauntlet off, giving a final hit to the girl by cutting her mask right in half from both sides at the top, causing the strap to come loose.

Ladybug watched in shock, the two pieces slid down both her front and back, revealing the blue hair of the girl she had been fighting. Kagami was now on her knees, huffing from behind her mouth mask, tired from the beating she'd just gotten from Ladybug, who took notice of her eyes. Her mouth fell open as she took it in, both the eyes and hair. For a second, she actually wondered if it was her mother she had been fighting, given how similar those two looks were. But she knew it wasn't her. This was someone different, yet those two traits was in her face mostly that left her wanting to see more. She crouched down by her side and pulled her mouth mask down, her eyes full of wonder as she looked at her full on. Kagami gave her a glare, not getting why she was looking at her like that.

"What? Happy to unmask me? Happy to put my face in to the authorities?" she asked harshly, watching as Ladybug looked at her all over, the heroine looking stunned at what she just had in front of her. It was then she got her words out of her mouth, something that left Kagami's body freezing.

"Who are you?"

Things were getting hard for Vandal and Black Manta, both of whom were now having to fight a load of the heroes by themselves. Manta was using his swords to try and stop most of Rena's attacks while having to stop his son from cutting up his armour, but Impulse was in on that, using his speed to rip his jet engines off his back, making him drop to his feet and fire his optics around, sending them all flying back from him, though Kaldur used his shield to keep himself from getting hurt by the shots, going back at his father and hardening his blades, slicing them right through the swords of his father, who watched in shock as he saw that he was now only down to his optics. But he didn't have time to use them as his son ended up kneeing him in the chest, leaving a huge dent right in the chest armour and sent him flying, making him lose sight as his optics began to blur from all the hits he was taking. He only just made out the image of his son holding his swords right against his chest, giving him a hard look that was masking the pain in his eyes.

"It's over, father. If you really believe in honour, know you've been beaten." he said in a hard tone, his voice holding no fear or sadness that Manta could even hear.

From behind his mask, Manta looked down to his son with wide eyes, seeing just how serious he was being now. His son was there, ready to finally kill him or do what he can to stop him from fighting on. It was hard for him to face this all the time, but being his son's enemy hurt him really hard.

While this happened, Vandal was getting swarmed on all sides now, with Superboy driving him into a corner with a multiple amount of punches that while Vandal was countering with great ease, it still pushed him back. Robin then leapt in, fitting a grappling hook into Vandal's side that punctured through his flesh, before pressing down on a button that fired a electric shot that streamed into his insides. Vandal growled in pain but fought back by catching an incoming fist of Superboy's and pulled on the hook, pulling Robin in and slamming him into Superboy, sending both flying in the opposite direction, though he was soon jabbed in his wound by Spoiler, making him bow lower before he shot his head up and hit her in the stomach, sending her right off her feet.

Bunnyx then came at him, pressing her umbrella's head into the ground and launching her feet at him, but he easily caught her by her and threw her onto the ground. He went to pull her up and give her a beating, but Impulse then ran in and gave him a hard hook to the face that sent the ancient man stumbling into the open. Impulse then ran up at him and began to punch him, his fists a blur. For Vandal, it felt like a load of bricks were crashing into him, but that was nothing compared to the many fights he had in the past. He instead grabbed Impulse by his head and lifted him up, catching his feet and he began to squeeze them hard, making the speedy teen cry out in pain as he felt his bones getting crushed by the man.

Vandal smirked as he saw the slumped state of the heroes around him before looking back at Impulse, his face turning into a hard sneer.

"How funny, you came back from the future to save the past, yet you will die here. I can only wonder what your friends from that time will think of you. A failure, perhaps?" he said cruelly as he squeezed harder and began to turn the teen's feet like he was opening a bottle, leaving Impulse on the verge of screaming for he could feel his bones beginning to snap and pop from his flesh...

But then out of Vandal's sight came Chat Noir, who ran at him with his bo-staff aimed at the ground. He launched himself from its point and threw himself around Vandal, who looked stunned to see the feline hero, who then swung his bo-staff to his face. Vandal quickly dropped Impulse to deflect the attack, but this made his medallion swing out in the process. It came into contact with the glowing tip of Chat Noir's staff, hard. For the staff jammed hard into the medallion's central piece, which was already glowing gold with its magical pieces, but instead what came next was a explosive reaction.

The medallion glowed a bright green, covering the gold surface with its a unpleasant beam of light streaming from its pieces. The caveman and hero were blinded by the light of the power, making them both come slamming onto the ground, stunned by what just occurred.

This didn't go unnoticed by everyone, for Ladybug looked away from Kagami as did Kaldur and Rena Rouge from Black Manta. They looked at the glowing sight in the dark up ahead, seeing it rise with a slight groaning sound coming from Vandal. They could just make out his form beginning to stand up from where he was, only this time he looked more creepy than before, for now a flaming aura of green surrounded his body, his eyes glowing in a similar colour. Instead of his normal relaxed look, though, Vandal's face now looked like it was twitching, his teeth all there and his lips quivering in nerves, his fists beginning to tremble.

Chat Noir looked up in shock as he saw what had just occurred. His heart started to pound as Vandal staggered from him, looking down at his glowing hands in a unrecognisable expression. He grunted, his aura beginning to get hotter as he then looked to the air above him. The caveman looked utterly wild.

"RAAAAAAAAAAARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" he screamed, his aura firing up into the air, tearing through the surroundings like a rocket destroying every piece of structure in its way. Everyone around him crouched and scrambled as pieces of debris began to collapse all around them, with Chat Noir running from Vandal to avoid getting caught in the destruction.

Kagami gasped at what she was seeing, feeling her body freeze up even more than it already did. The whole room was rattling like a earthquake had gone off, sending her off her feet and away from Ladybug, who noticed she had gotten away from her. Kagami darted back to her feet as Ladybug stood up. She began to make her way towards the Japanese girl but her path came to a stop when a large rock came collapsing down in between them both, sending a large puff of smoke around them. Ladybug closed her eyes to shut out the dust, staggering from the rattling all around her.

Rena ran past Black Manta after noticing Ladybug struggling to find her way, leaving just him and Kaldur, who was trying to stay focussed on his father even as the room felt like it was about to explode open. Manta looked up and noticed a large rock was coming loose over his son's head, making him freeze for a second as he realised what this could do. His son could survive a few bullets, plus a few exploding bombs, but this...he wasn't sure...

In just a second he made up his mind as he saw the rock come down at his son, who gasped as his father slammed into him, throwing him out of the way from the falling debris. Black Manta pinned his son down by the shoulder and stared at him, his eyes masked by his optics but pain still in his eyes. Kaldur felt his own eyes wide as he just took in what his dad just did for him, leaving him numb from head to toe...

Manta looked at Vandal, seeing he had now stopped screaming and was now on his knees, his aura flickering like a flame going out in the wind. Manta looked back at his son and shook his head, seeing what was now needed. He stood up from where he was and could only give Kaldur one final gaze, seeing the pain and longing look in his eyes. Manta knew this was a chance. A chance to show he cared. Even if it meant leaving him.

He dove to Vandal and dodged more collapsing debris, ignoring the scrambling bodies of his enemies around him as he scooped Vandal over his shoulder, thankful his armour was helping in taking the weight of the old caveman. His masked eyes locked onto Shiva, who Kagami was trying to wake up. He groaned as he quickly ran through the smoke to reach them, pulling Kagami up by her hand.

"You'll have to carry her, we've got to leave!" he ordered, getting a confused look from the girl before seeing he had Vandal over his shoulder. Looking around, she could see how things had become and knew it was time. Time she left with no answers...

She was nearly knocked off her feet when another rumble occurred, forcing her to loop an arm around Shiva's back and dragging her up before following Manta, his body thick against the light smoke that was filling the room around them as he led her out to their place of safety.

For the heroes, they quickly gathered together, with Superboy holding Impulse in his hands as he wasn't gonna be able to walk for a while. Chat Noir grunted as he smacked his staff against the rumbling ground.

"Crap! I hit his medallion and now look at where it's got us!" he yelled, now feeling really upset as he realised this could be their burial sight. Bunnyx shook her head and jabbed him in the side, glaring at him.

"Don't blame yourself, we didn't know what his medallion was like. Let's get out of here!" she said as she began to open a portal, only for another rock to come crashing down in front of her, making the rabbit heroine loose focus.

Everyone all looked nervous as they realised it was getting too much for everyone to even concentrate on their powers. They gathered closely to where very few debris had fallen, where they took in how much of it was coming down. They all shared a look, a look that silently meant this was more than likely goodbye, their mouths open and looking near hopeless...

Rena, however, glanced at her flute and something clicked in her head. Her eyes took in where they were and her hands began to lift towards her flute to her mouth. She closed her eyes and thought hard on what was needed here. She knew what was needed. She just had to give it her hardest.

She stood still and could only say one word that would save them all as darkness came over her eyes.

"Mirage".

All that rang in everyone's ears was the soft rhythm that echoed all around them like a ball. But as far as they were concerned, this was the last thing they'd hear, for everything around them turned dark, and all they could do now was accept for what would finally end them all. For while their friends were safe, it was worth that they died. Dying knowing they saved their friends was all that they were glad for...

* * *

_**This isn't looking good. Have our heroes met their grisly demise? Or has Rena Rouge managed to save them at the last minute? And what will the Light do next now they've escaped? **_

_**All this and more next time...**_


	15. Chapter 14: After the Battle

_Chapter 14: After the Battle_

Everybody was sure that they were dead, or at least that they should be.

During a climactic battle with the Light, Cat Noir's staff had come into contact with Vandal Savage's special medallion that could detect magical items. The result had led to a cave-in that was threatening to flatten everybody. The Light themselves had made a quick getaway but the two superhero teams of Young Justice and the Miraculers were still in the crumbling lair and seconds away from becoming part of the floor. They would all be dead if it hadn't been for the quick thinking of one person among their team.

Rena Rouge had activated her Mirage ability at the last minute but nobody was sure what would happen and how it would save them from the collapsing debris. They'd all braced themselves for the grisly impact of rocks and rubble smashing into them and killing them all instantly. However, it seemed that they were spared from such a gruesome demise. A couple of seconds passed before Ladybug and Robin dared to look up and see what had happened. They both gasped with a mixture of amazement and relief as curiously enough, the rubble was directly above them but not coming down any closer. The one thing keeping it from crashing down on the heroes was a transparent shield that had seemingly come from nowhere. They didn't need to think hard to figure out who was responsible for the shield. They looked over to Rena, who looked just as surprised as they were to see that her plan had worked. She could only glance down at her flute and then back up at the shield she'd created from her Mirage power. It was Rena who finally broke the silence as a grin stretched wide across her face with glee.

"I LOVE this thing!" she exclaimed, "I'm so gonna keep this Miraculous forever!"

"I'd say you more than earned it with that last-minute save." Ladybug agreed, "Thank you so much for saving us from that cave-in."

"Yeah, can we please talk about this when there's not literally a tonne of rubble hanging over our heads?" The Spoiler cut in, "It's REALLY unnerving being right here while there's still a chance we could become rock paste!"

Nobody could blame her for wanting to move out the way. Rena's illusion wouldn't last forever so they couldn't linger around. While the shield was still active, the two super-teams quickly ran out from under the rubble and over to where the schoolkids were still under Carapace's shield being protected. A minute later, Rena's shield finally gave way and the cave-in completed its journey down from the ceiling with a thunderous smash as rock after rock crashed down. Everybody watched this with a huge feeling of relief, glad that they hadn't still been underneath the falling rubble when it came down. Robin wiped his forehead and glanced over at his team.

"I always think that we can never have a number one "Too close to call" moment." he chuckled, "I'm beginning to think we just have."

"It'll take a LOT to top that close call." Impulse agreed, "At least we survived, right?!" he added more enthusiastically.

"Yeah, I quite enjoy being alive." Bunnyx added, still shaken from the near-death experience. Was superhero life ALWAYS this dangerous? How could anyone nearly get crushed to death and live to joke about it afterwards?

"It's too bad the Light got away." Ladybug said grimly, "But we couldn't have stopped them even if we wanted to. That cave-in was the perfect get-away for them."

Superboy, however, smiled, giving her a pat on the back.

"I think you'll be getting some good stuff from the police about that. They might've gotten away, but knowing M'Gann, she might've gotten us something." he reminded, making Ladybug's eyes widen in realisation.

"Of course, Brian! She must've stopped him if the Light have gone into a full scale retreat!" she cried in pleasure, glad to realise it wasn't for nothing.

"Only one way to find out, M'Lady. We better get outside." Chat Noir pointed out, getting an agreeable nod from everyone as Bunnyx stepped forward.

"Daylight just a skip away." she said brightly as she opened her portal, big enough for everyone to step through.

Robin sighed, glad to be getting out of a cave for once. Everyone took a few steps forward and found themselves back in the daylight, right outside the tunnel's entrance. They let a few gasps, thankful to suck in as much air as they could after being stuck in such a place.

They found Nino and Lila there standing over their unconscious friends, their Kwamis examining them closely. Wayzz looked up at Nino and gave him a nod as everyone ran to them.

"They will be waking soon. The effects of Harvest's possession is wearing off." he comforted the teenager, who smiled as he took Wayzz into his hand.

"Glad to hear it, my lil' dude! Just hope they are still they're same bright selves as always!" he said gladly as he and Lila turned to see the heroes emerging, running towards them with a grin.

"You guys made it! We thought you were goners when we heard that explosion from inside!" Lila exclaimed, getting a wave from Rena Rouge.

"Got a few tips from my boyfriend's speciality." she assured, giving Nino a grin, which he shared.

"My babe, saviour of the day!" he said brightly as he gave her a hug and getting one back in return.

Impulse winced as he felt his bones clicking back into place thanks to his healing, though he still rested on Superboy's shoulder.

"Agh! Hey, Conner, mind asking M'gann how her part of the mission went? She captured Brian or what?" he asked in frustration, the pain in his legs not helping.

Superboy gave him a sigh before closing his eyes and focussed hard on reaching out to his girlfriend. Everyone looked to him for an answer, which came when his eyes opened widely before looking to everyone.

"She said we don't have time, the police are on their way. She's telling me to tell Ladybug to act natural" he said, looking to the blue haired heroine, who gasped.

"Oh, they're on their way? Okay, you guys better get going! Nino, Lila, you better turn back to your superhero forms!" she said, quickly giving out what needed to get done.

Bunnyx opened up another portal.

"Here you go, this'll get you back to the hotel room, don't need to think about being seen by any of the police." she assured, getting a grateful nod from Kaldur.

"We appreciate it, Bunnyx. Remember, this day is a victory brought about by you, for if it were t for you, we'd all be dead." he said gladly. Ladybug waved it off.

"Save that for later. We'll meet you at the hotel, get yourselves relaxed." she said to the half Atlantean, who smiled in response before leading his friends through, each one giving them a smile. Bunnyx, though, stopped Superboy as he was about to carry Impulse through.

"Just one thing before you go, speedy boy." she said as she stood face to face with Impulse, her face sharp as she bumped her hands on her hips.

Impulse looked a bit nervous as he began to think about what it was.

"Uh..." he was silenced when she gave him a soft kiss on the cheek, making his face turn a hot red. Bunnyx pulled back and smirked, something that made his pain disappear as he felt his body go stiff.

"Thanks for the save in there." she thanked him, making Superboy grin as he saw Impulse's face look like it was splashed with water, carrying him through the portal, which closed behind him.

Rena watched with a sly smirk on her face, her mind already buzzing with thoughts on how to get Alix and this super-teen together. Ladybug could see what she was thinking and she jabbed her in the ribs with her elbow.

"You wipe that smile off your face Rena. Don't get any ideas." she snorted.

"What? You saw it too didn't you?" Rena muttered. "The way that boy blushed when she kissed him? They should totally..."

"Seriously Rena, zip it." Ladybug chuckled, jabbing her in the ribs again.

Robin was the last to leave through the portal, the last anyone would see of him for the moment being when he stepped through the portal and turned his head to look at the Miraculers one last time. His face was brighter than anyone had ever seen it before, the smile on his face enough to make all the girls feel weak at the knees for how handsome and cheerful he looked.

"Ladybug. Cat Noir. Batman spoke to me and my girl over what an honour it was to have worked with you." the team leader said softly, "I can only say...that I share that sentiment. You were amazing, both you and your new friends. You'd be welcome to join either Young Justice or the Teen Titans if you ever decide to do so."

"Thanks very much Robin." Ladybug said appreciatively, "For now, I think we're OK as our own team but I can't say that being a Titan or a member of your team isn't a tempting offer."

"We'll definitely hold onto that thought." Cat Noir added, "And Robin, your team was amazing as well. I'd love to work with you all again someday!"

"Maybe we will. I sure hope that we get to meet again, and hopefully not when there's an evil organization trying to infiltrate your country." Robin said brightly, "I'll see you all back at the hotel when everything's done with."

He then disappeared through the portal just as the incapacitated schoolchildren began to come to. Rose and Juleka both sat up together, their arms around each other as they blinked away the last traces of sleep in their eyes. Kim was the first to speak, the sporty boy massaging his temples.

"Whoa...anyone remember what the heck happened to us?" he muttered groggily.

"I'm not sure if I even want to." Juleka said grimly, gently caressing Rose's shoulder.

"Weren't we staring at some winged angel that attacked us or something?" Rose replied, shaking, "After that...I dunno, it's like we died for a minute!"

"An implausible theory Rose for we're clearly all still alive." Max added, adjusting his glasses, "Though I too am curious what happened to us and why we blacked out."

"I think our answer is right there." Nathaniel said with a groan as he sat up, pointing towards the collected group of heroes in front of them.

They all gasped as they took in the sight before them, seeing not only was Ladybug and Chat Noir there, but now joined by Rena Rouge, Carapace, Queen B, and Bunnyx. They all looked up wide eyed as they saw they were now in the presence of new heroes, heroes who just saved them. Ladybug smiled and crouched down, helping Mylène up as Carapace did with Ivan.

"You're all okay now. Thanks to your friend, Alix, we got told you were in danger, so we came here as soon as we could." Ladybug assured as she watched Mylène cuddle Ivan, who gave Ladybug a grateful smile.

"Mind filling us in on what else happened? My body is aching." Sabrina moaned as she rubbed her back, getting an apologetic look off Carapace.

"Uh, you all kinda got possessed, so we had to fight you. Sorry for any injuries." he said softly.

He didn't think that the children would settle well with the knowledge that their souls had literally been ripped out their bodies by a demon so Carapace felt that just simply saying they'd been possessed would suffice.

"Great, I like when we were akumatised, our injuries healed up after turning back to normal. Now I won't compete in any sports." Kim grumbled, only to get a bump on the head by Bunnyx's umbrella.

"Don't be a lazy lump, you lug. Your stronger than that." she assured him, getting a shrug from her friend.

"Eh, I guess. Though now that we're all here, we gotta know who you guys are!" he said brightly, jumping to his feet and leaning towards Bunnyx like a fanboy. Bunnyx giggled and pushed him away.

"And just like that, his injuries are healed." she said to Ladybug, who smiled.

Police sirens could be heard coming closer and this made Sabrina jump in joy, knowing who it was that was coming. Soon, Roger arrived with many armed officers, all of them getting down onto the tracks and running towards the group of children that had been captured. Roger quickly ran right to Sabrina and pulled her into a hug, holding her close to him and almost crying as he held her.

"Oh my baby, I'm so sorry! I should've kept you off from school, I'm so sorry!" he cried.

Rena smiled, seeing now that the kids were indeed safe now. Still, she knew they couldn't leave yet. She knew Ladybug had to hear from Roger, for this was part of superhero business as he came to the gathered heroes, smiling.

"You led us to the right place, Ladybug! Glad you and your friends saved my daughter and the rest of the students! As a plus you saved Paris by exposing Brian Beaumont as that Brain monster. We've got him locked up now and will transfer him to government officials to interrogate." he thanked.

Ladybug tried not to let her eyes widen at he just said, but she remembered that Superboy told her to act natural on orders from M'gann. It came to her head on what must've occurred. She nodded at him, smiling.

"Just glad we got one of them locked up, Roger! Let's just hope we have a proper mayor in charge now." she said to him as Chat Noir came to him.

"We're sorry to say the rest of his friends got away, but what matters is that their operation here is over. They might be out of Paris by now, but this Brain thing could give you some help on how to find him" he explained to Roger, who gave the feline hero a nod.

"Yes, though we will have forensics go through the tunnel to find anything else, and we will need to get some details from you all on what happened in the tunnel, Chat Noir. Speaking of you all, mind if I can now ask, who are your new friends?"

Ladybug and Cat Noir looked over their new recruits with admiration, glad that Roger was acknowledging them as well. They deserved some recognition after their amazing work in helping them defeat The Light. They had been excellent despite being new to the superhero work. The duo turned back to Roger.

"Some new superheroes willing to fight for a good cause, as we do." Ladybug explained, "Me and my kitty friend here know that the two of us aren't gonna be enough anymore so we decided to recruit some new superheroes to help us keep Paris safe from evil."

"You can introduce yourselves if you want." Cat Noir offered.

Rena Rouge, Carapace, Queen B and Bunnyx came shyly forward and waved to the officers. They all knew who Roger was of course and it felt strange having to wave to him as if they were meeting him for the first time but it kept up the pretence that they weren't anyone he knew so they kept along with it. The next few minutes were spent introducing themselves to the schoolchildren, Roger and his men and explaining what had happened between them and the Light and how Sabrina and her friends had ended up in this situation, being kidnapped in broad daylight and taken to the abandoned train station for the Light's nefarious purposes. Roger didn't interrupt, only asking an occasional question between sentences during the discussion. His men had taken everything in with interest as the Miraculers told their story.

"...and that's how it all went down." Rena finished, glad to have told the part about her saving everyone's lives back in the station.

"Yeah, it was quite a battle!" Carapace added, "You should've been there, it was like totally off the wall between us and the Light!"

"I...can imagine." Roger said slowly. Truth be told, he wasn't sure he really could. He took out a notebook and pencil and prepared to write something down.

"Now one last thing: This team of yours Ladybug and Cat Noir, does it have a name of some kind?" he asked.

A fair question to ask a group of heroes. Anyone would assume a supposed team of supers would have a name. Ladybug and Cat Noir looked at each other as if trying to guess what the other would come up with. They had pondered over a name for their team but hadn't thought much about it due to concentrating all efforts onto their battle with the Light. They knew already that they weren't going to call themselves "The Miraculous League" as that would be too similar to the Justice League. Ladybug knew what would be a perfect name for the team. It was one of those ideas that should've been obvious at first but had only occurred to her now. It would make sense considering what kind of people watched over the Miraculouses with Fu being one of them. Satisfied with her idea, Ladybug answered.

"This team is known as...the Miraculous Guardians!" she exclaimed in a manner that was probably hammier than intended.

Chat Noir smiled, giving Carapace and Bunnyx a grin, though Rena Rouge and Queen B frowned, not sure how to take it. Roger, though, beamed, liking what he just heard. This was all on his bodycam and he was gladly feeding it through to the news. And the name was something fitting for him.

"Well, all I can say is this...welcome to the world, Miraculous Guardians. And thank you for saving us from these criminals. We look forward to seeing more of you in the future!" he said gladly.

"Y-yeah, we will!" Nathaniel cried, waving mostly at Chat, Carapace and Bunnyx, who all waved back at him.

"You better, because we're here to protect you all! Just keep an out, for we'll all be there!" Rena exclaimed into Roger's camera, making him jump slightly. She shyly waved an apology and stood back with Ladybug.

"Sorry, just wanted to give them that extra bit of assurance." she said to Ladybug, who giggled.

"I get it." she said to her as Bunnyx opened her portal behind them, getting a gasp from everyone as they watched on in awe.

"Yup, you're seeing a portal right in front of ya. No jumping through after us!" Bunnyx teased as Carapace stepped back into it, giving his classmates a peace sign as he disappeared inside.

Queen B gave them a wink and jumped into the portal, followed closely by a twirl from Rena Rouge, who stepped inside, followed by a smiling Bunnyx as she leapt inside. All that was left now was Ladybug and Chat Noir, who stood side by side at the portal, giving each other a warming smile as they saw each other in the eyes. They shared a silent and heartfelt message, before they looked back to everyone in front of them, giving them all a wave that earned them a cheer from their classmates, forever seen as the heart and soul of the city that they protected.

Both stepped back, fading into the portal as it carried them to where they needed to go. The portal sealed up, gone from everyone's sights but leaving everyone a sense of pleasure of what they had seen in front of them.

* * *

It was one thing to feel pleasure for on the surface, but underground in the water it was a different thing as a whole.

Vandal had never felt such a headache in the many centuries of his life. It was burning and it was like his brain was close to melting, feeling soggy up there. He blinked away the darkness that clouded his eyes and found himself laying on the relatively thick surface of a mat, surrounded by grey metallic walls that was more different than the natural walls of the train station they had been in.

He groaned as he sat up, finding his legs were nearly drained of all the power they once had, causing him to think carefully about whether to get up or not. Looking around, the scarred caveman came to recognise the room he was in, for he had been here before, only he'd never sat on the mat he was on now. He sighed bitterly as he looked down, realising what this meant. He didn't even notice Psimon walking into the room, his face now lost of any emotion as he looked over Vandal, who was now staring down at his medallion. Psimon, for once, felt disappointment towards his leader, for he was now sat there, confused and weak. But he knew better than to say any of this. Vandal could still well pop his head off like a cork bottle if he stepped out of line.

"So, you're awake. Manta got you out in time before you would've been buried by the rubble. We had to retreat, for they outnumbered us greatly and we were losing. Queen Bee was paralysed, Harvest has become trapped in his realm, and Shiva has been knocked out." he explained to Vandal, his voice lost of any emotion as he decided to get to the point with Vandal.

Throughout the report, Savage didn't take his eyes off his medallion. The caveman had listened to Psimon's report though, for he gave a question to the pale skinned psychic.

"What of the Brain? Is he still in power?" he asked quietly. Psimon shook his head.

"He isn't. He was captured by the French forces, because "Ladybug" managed to reveal the truth. He's now being taken to a top secret facility so they can get answers out of him. That's where we need to rethink about what we do next, Vandal. We could lose more of our operations now that we've lost the Brain!" he informed, his voice slightly on the edge of fear as he finished pointing out the situation they were facing.

Vandal didn't take his eyes off his medallion as he listened to Psimon, his mind already racing as he realised what everything meant. For Vandal, this was something he needed to think over, but for him, thinking for plans was an always thing for him, especially for his future. For him, it was already there right on him. In his medallion.

His eyes slowly raised to meet Psimon's, looking so relaxed and thoughtful, something that Psimon had to blink to see. How his leader was not pissed was something he didn't want to search his mind for, he'd rather see it all now. He gotten his answer when Vandal spoke in such a normal tone.

"Get me Kagami. I need to talk to her about this." he requested.

Psimon raised an eyebrow, but he didn't question Vandal, for he knew if he wanted something, he'd give it to him. He gave him a nod and walked out of the room, leaving Vandal to stare at his medallion.

In a nearby room, Kagami sat next to Shiva as she was in a more comfortable bed, an oxygen mask over her face as well as several bandages and tubes covering her body. The hit she'd gotten really did some work on her body and she was now laying there unconscious and out of the world, not knowing where she was.

Kagami's face was hard to tell of what she was feeling, but it was easy to say her mind wasn't on Shiva, but on the person she'd just left behind. Ladybug. How she talked to her, how her eyes were full of questions when she unmasked her, how her voice was full of concern upon seeing her. Kagami couldn't put a finger on it, but there was something about Ladybug that looked similar to someone else. It was like trying to picture a blur with a clear photo, and the more she concentrated, the more harder it came to her figuring it out. She was really confused for those reasons. Why Ladybug didn't knock her out to get her arrested, or even try talking to her in a less friendly way? Was Ladybug just that kind of a person? Or was it because she saw something in her that she needed answers? Or was it because she just saw a kid she thought was brainwashed?

All this ended up leaving her when Psimon came to her, his footsteps quiet but enough to get her attention. He gave no emotion in his face as he spoke to her.

"You need to come. Vandal wants to speak with you." he said, his words straight to the point and cold, telling Kagami she needed to follow on.

She did so, leaving Shiva's side in a matter of seconds and following the dark coated man back to where Vandal was, now sitting up, his eyes still on his medallion.

Kagami entered the room and caught his eyes, earning her a smile from him, which got a raised set of faces from both Kagami and Psimon, the latter of whom Vandal spoke to.

"You can leave us now, Psimon. It's between me and Kagami." he said bluntly.

Psimon chose not to question him so he left the room, leaving Kagami and Vandal to themselves.

Vandal patted the side next to him, letting Kagami sit next to him, her eyes full of confusion as she looked at him, wondering why he wanted her here. His smile didn't leave when he talked, looking back at his medallion.

"We might be on the retreat, Kagami, but in all this, I've learnt an important lesson. This medallion is clearly tied to the Miraculouses, which might now be more useful to us than just a show. I have a job for you in mind regards to this, my dear." he said softly, looking at her with all kinds of dark emotions in his eyes.

Kagami wanted to shrink and disappear under those eyes, but she knew if she did, he'd have her dead for her being so weak. She needed to listen to him.

"What job would that be, sir?" she asked, hiding her fear from him.

He smiled as he unhooked his medallion and showed it to her face, letting her look at it more closely as she saw its inscriptions.

"You've proven very well in the field of stealth, so my next task for you will test that. Would you like to visit the country of Tibet?" he asked in interest, getting wide eyes from Kagami. She looked up at him in confusion as she could only wonder what he was planning now after this recent defeat.

Most importantly, why her? Was this now a chance? To prove herself more to him? Or to see if she was in this?

Her mind only raced all these thoughts through her head as Vandal began to recount a story he told her before, only this time, the story included the Miraculouses...

* * *

A celebration was already underway in the hotel room, a quiet one, but one that was enough to keep everyone in high spirits. Shortly after they'd stepped through the portal, the Miraculous heroes had found themselves back in the room with their new friends, all of whom were now doing their best to relax now that the fight was over. Even Kaldur was resting in the armchair, though he looked more in deep thought than looking pleased. Bart was on the bed with his feet raised on a stand to let his healing do its work, but he was really loving the feel of the bed, his arms open and enjoy the fabric of it. Superboy was talking with M'gann in the nearby set of armchairs, both having a catch up on what they went through in their missions, while Stephanie was resting in Tim's lap, both of them relaxing in each other's arms as they felt the urge for a full on kiss coming over them that was cut short by the arrival of the French based heroes.

Carapace beamed upon feeling the atmosphere in the room, spreading his arms open.

"Now this is what I call victory time!" he exclaimed, getting a thumbs up from Bart.

"Heh, if you've got good music on you, dude, I'm up for listening to it!" he called as he tried not to sit up, only to resist falling off the bed when Bunnyx sat next to him.

"Heh, don't tell me you like nineties rapping, that's an off putter." she warned, making him blush.

"Wha? Nah, nineties is old, then again, like fifties old! Does that make sense?" he asked nervously, getting a giggle from Bunnyx as she rubbed his cheek.

"Heh, guess it is for a fellow time traveller." she teased, pulling out her pocket watch Miraculous and smiled.

"Speaking of time travellers..." she said as she opened it up, releasing Fluff from the inside of it and turning herself back to normal. The rabbit Kwami let out some air before beaming as she settled into Alix's hand, her owner looking back at her with a grin.

"Couldn't have beaten those guys without you powering me up, Fluff. You helped save us all by giving me that power." she thanked, only for Fluff to shake her head with a giggle.

"Oh Alix, don't be like that. If you didn't sneak out of the back of the bus, you'd have been in as much danger as the others. I might've given you the power, but it was your smart thinking that helped turn things against the Light." she pointed out to her, leaving her looking a bit stunned.

Bart smiled in agreement with Fluff.

"She has a point." he said kindly, getting a smile out of Alix with a feeling of pride coming over her. Carapace, Rena Rouge and Queen B smiled as they realised something.

"You know, if we're all celebrating, let's get everyone in." Rena Rouge said brightly, sharing the look with her two friends, who nodded in agreement.

She took her necklace off and out came Trixx, followed closely by Wayzz and Pollen when their owners removed their Miraculouses. The released Kwamis smiled as they floated to their owners, Trixx giving Alya a proud look as he took her nose into his little hands.

"My little cub saved everyone! Smart thinking and good use of the Mirage, my little darling! You used it to the Best moment!" he said happily, giving her a rub on the nose. Alya giggled and smoothed his little head.

"Oh you little ball of fluff, thanks! But it wasn't all just me, my boy and the queen got our friends out of that hell hole!" she said in a equally happy tone, giving him a rub under his arms that made him giggle.

"Indeed so, that I can agree with" Wayzz said softly as he looked at Nino.

"You proved yourself worthy of the turtle Miraculous, Nino. You defended those you cared for and used the shell-ter at the right moment and for the right reasons. It has been hard for me to get used to having someone new looking after me, but you've been really good." he said proudly to the teenager, who grinned as he clenched his fist in joy.

"Now that's what I call an achievement! I'm glad I made you proud, my little man!" he loudly yelled, getting a light giggle from Wayzz.

"You yourself used the Venom well, Lila. You took down someone who was so used to subjecting those to being her slaves with just her words, while fighting well on your own." Pollen praised her owner, who smiled.

"Yeah, it felt great as a whole. Actually got to save the world like a real hero, and fight someone really deserving of my anger." she said as she rubbed her face against Pollen's, feeling a weight coming off her chest as she did so.

Ladybug and Chat Noir smiled at all this, a sense of joy coming over the two lovers as they saw all around them what they achieved, not just beating the Light, but changing the lives of those they chosen. They'd never felt so proud in all their lives.

"You all did greatly. Gonna be honest, you all worked well as a team, especially up against the Light. Alix made some choices I didn't even think of, it all led to Nino keeping the kids safe, you beat down Queen Bee, Lila, and you, Alya, how you saved us with your shield, that was some serious quick thinking!" she said brightly, getting a playful shrug from Alya.

"I learned from a good trainer or two." she said, eyeing them both.

Chat Noir grinned at her and listened in as everyone praised each other, but someone caught his eyes. He saw Kaldur sat there, looking like he was not even in the room. He slowly pulled away from his lover and crouched next to Kaldur, getting his attention.

"You okay there?" he asked with a concerned look and tone. He got a sigh from the half Atlantean, who looked down.

"It's hard, Chat Noir. All my life my father has been my enemy, an enemy of my mother, of Atlantis, and of my friends...but he always cared for me, no matter where we were. Today I just wanted closure...a closure to him. That he could turn away and hand himself in..." he said sadly as he thought back to when he fought his father.

Chat Noir gave him a sad look, getting exactly what he meant, so he patted his arm.

"I get it, pal. Sometimes our parents don't make the right choices and we will always miss them. But you'll get that closure, Kaldur, because your dad is still out there, and he saved you. There's still time." he said in a slightly more brighter tone, which gotten a smile from the co-leader as he let it sit in what he meant.

"You're very right on that, Chat Noir." he said in a thankful tone.

Ladybug could see her boyfriend was sat with Kaldur and was having a conversation she could tell was quite a personal one, leaving her hoping her lover was doing what he could to cheer up the half Atlantean. This made her look over to Tim and Steph, who were watching on proudly as they snuggled up, clearly in the mood to relax but also really in for the celebrations. Ladybug did want to talk to them both, so she went over to them, getting an open arm greeting from Steph.

"Heh, here's the bluenette, bright as cherries! Gotta say you chose the right people for this!" she said in her usual cheerful tone, getting a giggle from Ladybug.

"Heh, yeah, we did, and I'm proud of them. They gave it their all and did so well." she said pleasantly, looking at her friends to see how well they were mixing in with the rest of Tim and Stephanie's friends. Ladybug then looked to Tim with a more thoughtful look, her eyes slightly worried.

"So, now that the Brain's been captured and the Light's been pushed out, what do you think will happen now? Are they gonna come at us with something bigger?" she asked him, her words full of concern. Tim looked thoughtful at her question and looked to Stephanie, who shared a similar look. He offered her a smile as he looked to Ladybug.

"I don't think the Light will bother you now that the Brain's been arrested. Some of the Justice League will get in to interrogate him, try and find out about Vandal's bases and where we can corner him and bring him to justice. You might get a few other criminals coming to you now that you've built your team...but after all you did, I think they'll think twice." he assured Ladybug, who smiled as she let those words settle in.

"Yeah, so long as it's not someone as powerful as Vandal or Darkseid. Still, I've gotta say Tim, thank you, for coming here and helping us, and making us see we need more friends of our own, and helping us be our own. Doesn't mean we're not up for another team up, but our people really believe in us now." she said gratefully, getting a grin from Stephanie.

"Hey, we were on the sidelines half the time, you did your best on your own while we were here." she reminded, getting a shrug from Ladybug, who couldn't find anything to argue on that.

Alya, who was talking with Superboy and M'Gann, looked up and took notice of the close conversation between Ladybug and Tim and Stephanie, letting something click into her. This was all an open conversation and a closure to their adventures with these guys, but she also knew the promise they made when they began training. She smiled and stood up, deciding to make it known.

"Say, since celebrations are used to mark the end and beginnings of somethings, I say it's best we celebrate this new beginning fully. Can we know who you are now, Ladybug?" she asked, getting a huge amount of silence in the room after making her request.

A lot of unsure looks followed from those around them, with Ladybug looking a bit wide eyed at what Alya just asked her. Chat Noir stood up and walked over to his girlfriend, who lost her words. He gave her a smile, one that told her he had his own opinion on this, but it'd be one that'd work for them both.

"I think it's best we do. It's a promise we made, and I don't want to make the same mistake Hawk Moth made." he said quietly, which hit Ladybug right there. They did promise to tell them of who they were, and she didn't want to keep secrets from those they just worked with.

It only pushed on her more when Nino, Alix and Lila stood with Alya, their Kwamis floating right by their sides. Ladybug looked at Lila and sighed, her eyes looking very sad.

"Lila...when we reveal ourselves, please don't get angry, okay?" she pleaded. Lila smiled and nodded.

"Look, we've been working together for a few days and you did save my life weeks ago. We've gotten better since. Whoever you are, I'll be able to get to know you more. So show us who you are, and Chat Noir" she said, sounding glad to tell Ladybug that for she was now the wiser one here.

Ladybug looked to her feline like lover, who beamed as he lifted his hand that held his ring, giving her that ever so charming smile of his that melted her. She smiled back as she realised that he was in for this and like always, he'd be by her side with what she'd do. The red clad heroine nodded and lifted her hands to her ears, facing them all right on.

"Tikki, Spots Off." Ladybug said as she removed her earrings.

"Plagg, Claws In." Cat Noir chimed in as he removed his ring.

Their Miraculouses now removed, Ladybug and Cat Noir disappeared in a bright flash of red and black respectively, leaving Marinette and Adrien standing in their places. Once the de-transformations had finished, they stood together with nervous smiles on their faces as four pairs of eyes stared incredulously at them. Tim and his team kept silent and watched, curious to see how the new Miraculers would react.

"Surprise?" Marinette said sheepishly. The smile on her face made her look as if she was about to be sick.

Alya, Nino, Alix and Lila stared in disbelief as it settled in on who Ladybug and Cat Noir were. All four of them were just unable to believe their eyes. It was even debateable if what they were seeing was even real. Paris's biggest heroes, the very duo that had saved them countless times in the past, fought off akumas, tackled the Riddler & The Joker and even fought against Darkseid's daughter and survived to tell about it were Marinette and Adrien this whole time?! It all suddenly made sense as they thought back to the many cases of the duo's sudden disappearances and mysterious absences before. It had been so obvious and yet they'd never figured it out until now! Alya remembered the time she'd even suggested that Cat Noir looked like Adrien to Marinette. How shocking it was to find out she'd been right all along!

"No...WAY!" Alya shrieked, putting her hands to her head in amazement, "MY BFF IS LADYBUG?! **MY BFF IS LADYBUG AND SHE GAVE ME A MIRACULOUS SO I COULD BE A HERO AND FIGHT ALONGSIDE HER?!"**

It was all too much for the Martiquen girl. The room seemed to spin around her as all sense of feeling left her and she was unable to stand a minute longer. She fainted, but Nino caught her before she could hit the floor. The Young Justice team couldn't help but snicker slightly, as tasteless as it was to laugh at a fainting girl.

"I think she took that well." Steph remarked.

"Yeah...a little better than I expected honestly." Marinette said meekly, "I kinda expected her to have an atomic meltdown!"

"I know I feel like having one myself!" Nino cried, "This is so radical! Paris's biggest superheroes are you two! Man that is awesome! I can't express enough how super cool that is!"

"To be honest, that's the reaction I expected you to have." Adrien chuckled.

"Oooooooh imagine if Chloe was here. She'd probably have died from shock instead of the Riddler's sick games!" Alix blurted, "The very hero she was a fan of was the girl she bullied! I doubt she'd have handled THAT well..."

"Oh believe me, Chloe's the LAST person I would've revealed my secret to!" Marinette scoffed, "I'd rather let Hawk Moth know my true identity than her!

Though it was still awful to watch her die like that..." she added, hugging herself sadly.

Alix nodded sympathetically. Knowing that one of her friends was Ladybug just made Chloe's death even sadder in hindsight. How heavy had this death been weighing on her friend like that? The skater girl could scarcely imagine. She hugged Marinette to make her feel better after the mood had been a little soured by that thought.

"I'm sure she and her dad are happy that you're still fighting for us and making sure their deaths weren't in vain." Alix said softly.

"I like to think that too." Marinette agreed, hugging Alix back.

Lila was the only one who hadn't said anything. She was having the most trouble articulating her thoughts in this situation. What could she even say? Cat Noir was the boy she'd been crushing on and trying to manipulate with her lies and Ladybug was the baker girl that was in the class with him! It boggled the mind to think all this time, that ordinary looking baker girl had been the one who had come up to her in her superhero guise and exposed her for the liar she was in front of Adrien! Knowing this, Lila almost felt a tremendous urge to slap Marinette across the face. Now she finally knew who to blame for exposing her and ruining her attempts to woo Adrien many months ago! And yet...these two people had found it in their hearts to forgive her and had given her a Miraculous. They had given her a chance to be a superhero, to be a better person than the liar she had been despite them being the last people on planet Earth that should want anything to do with her! How could anyone be as pure and as forgiving as these two and possibly be real people? Lila had to admit that Marinette and Adrien deserved to be superheroes. How lucky was Paris to have them as their guardians? Despite everything, she knew she couldn't be mad at Marinette. The blue-haired girl noticed Lila was looking away, seemingly deep in thought.

"Lila? Are...are you mad about this revelation?" she asked nervously.

Adrien stood by her, his body tense as he felt he might need to break up a potential fight. He expected more than anyone in the room that Lila might have the least pleasant reaction to this reveal. Lila looked at them with her face lost in deep thought and was only just started to put it all together. Her eyes looked sad but her mouth was twisting slightly into a smile of sorts, mostly eyeing Marinette. She hugged herself a bit more and gave herself a squeeze, trying to relax herself as she spoke to them.

"It's just...weird...all this time it was you both. You both forgave me even when I rejected your apology. But it makes sense now, why you were so determined to keep Adrien away from me and why you were being so nice to me, Marinette, and why you tried to make me feel better after everyone got mad at me. You made me feel welcome because you heard me out, and to know it was you that saved me from Riddler, it makes me feel more better now that I look back on it. I must've improved a lot in your eyes for you to give Pollen to me." she explained, giving Pollen a smile as she rested in her hand.

Marinette jaw dropped at what she just heard from Lila, but her heart leaped at the same time. She couldn't help but smile.

"Y-You're not mad?" she asked shyly. Lila beamed and gave her a peace sign.

"Nope...okay, I'll admit, even after you saved me from Riddler, and what you told me, part of me was kinda still nervous about you after that argument we had in front of Adrien. And I was a bit miffed you and Adrien got together, but with what happened with Adrien and his dad, I didn't want to say anything. But having got to know you, Marinette, I'm glad you're Ladybug. You took me in, you were nice to me, you gave me a chance. I can't thank you more." she said gladly, her tone so grateful towards Marinette, who felt like she was gonna scramble her eyes to settle herself back in with what she just heard.

She honestly thought Lila would've launched herself at her and pounded her, but hearing all of what Lila said was enough to think back to herself, all the hard work she did to make up for her, it was worth it. She was thankful to see Lila was glad and easy with her, something that left her feeling more easy in her chest now.

Nino, however, listened to something what Lila said and he zoned in something she said in her explanation. His eyes turned to Adrien and his eyes turned sad as something hit him. Adrien caught his eyes and looked confused.

"Nino? What is it?" He asked, concerned at what had suddenly gotten him sad.

Nino looked at him all over before he spoke again, his voice sad as he spoke right at him.

"Dude...you found about your dad...you were fighting him all that time, you saw him die...oh man, I'm so sorry!" he cried, dragging Alya over as he pulled his best friend into a hug, leaving Adrien stunned at what he was just processing in his head. He sighed as he gave him the hug, a small smile on his face as Alix and Lila looked at him with sad expressions on them as well. While his heart shivered, Adrien felt warmth as he hugged him back.

"Nino, there's nothing for you to say sorry about. None of us knew, not even me. I spent weeks blaming myself for not knowing and I nearly lost it a lot. I had Marinette though, she got me better, through hell on Apokalips she was there for me, even when I was scared of coming back home, she was there. I'm so glad she's in my life, she's the best person I've ever known, I'm proud she's my girlfriend. I don't want you going on beating yourself up over me and my dad, because I've started going forward with my life. Don't get sad, okay, because I'm done with it." he said softly, looking at Alix and Lila as he did so.

Everyone, even Kaldur, looked at him proudly, glad to see he was not letting his dad upset him anymore. They could see there was some pain there, but he wasn't pretending to stay strong, he was strong and was being more happy. Nino pulled back and gave him a smile, though he looked like he was crying as he came to fully realise how painful it was for him to learn of his dad being Hawkmoth.

It was then Alya shot up between them both, her eyes wide and full of alarm.

"WHERE AM I? I JUST HAD A DREAM WHERE MARINETTE AND ADRIEN WERE LADYBUG AND CHAT NOIR!" she screamed, looking all around herself, getting a large amount of giggles. Tikki then flew up to her and bumped her nose, making her jump back with a cry, getting a giggle from Tikki.

"It was no dream! Look right in front of you!" she said sweetly as she flew next to Marinette as Plagg floated next to Adrien, both of them smiling nervously as they tried to hold down their laughter.

Alya stared at the two once more, sporting that same expression she had before she fainted. To Marinette and Adrien, Alya looked as if she was staring at a pair of aliens that had come out of nowhere.

"Whoa...you mean I'm not going crazy or anything?" she exclaimed, "It's really true that my BFF and her boyfriend are Ladybug and Cat Noir?!"

"Yes Alya!" Marinette cried, a slight giggle edging her words, "Do we need to transform again just to show you we're not pulling your leg?"

That wouldn't be necessary for it seemed like Alya was finally coming to grips with the shocking revelation. It still made her head spin just thinking about it. Who'd have thought that the shy, clumsy baker girl she was best friends with was this awesome superheroine? And who also would've believed that the teen super-model her friend had a crush on was her butt-kicking superhero partner? Then again, maybe that was why nobody suspected them. Ladybug and Cat Noir's personalities were so drastically different from the real Marinette and Adrien that it was impossible to think they were the same people. It was common after all for superheroes to adopt different personalities to hide their identities when not in costume. Even the Young Justice team did this with their superhero selves being a little more serious than their civilian identities. With all this in mind, Alya no longer struggled to wrap her head around the whole thing. And yet she couldn't help but explode with questions for the two.

"OMGTHISISINCREDIBLE!" she exclaimed, talking at about 90 miles an hour, "I'vesogottagetthisontheLadyBlog! You'vegottatellmeeverything! Whendidyoutwogetthosepowers? Whogaveyouthosepowers? Howawesomedoesitfeeltobebutt-kickingsuperheroes?! TELLMEEVERYTHING!"

"Ha, ha, ha! Alya, please, take it easy!" Marinette cried frantically, "You're gonna wear yourself out!"

"We'll tell you everything in due course!" Adrien said brightly, "But you can't talk about this on your blog. You do realize that, right?" he asked sternly.

"I agree, bad idea." Alya said, frowning at herself for even suggesting that in the first place, "Who knows if some super-villain just happened to come across the LadyBlog and read about you two being Ladybug and Cat Noir...I'll just keep pretending I don't know and keep making you two look awesome, which I really don't need to because you two ARE awesome!"

Marinette and Adrien beamed, appreciating Alya's sensibility and her kind comments.

"Though I have to ask, how does it feel when you two get all cosy in those skin-tight costumes?" Alya asked slyly, an impish grin spreading across her face.

That set everyone off. Nino, Alix, Lila and Bart couldn't help but laugh while Tim and Steph put a hand over their mouths to try and stifle their laughter. Kaldur just smirked, knowing what she meant and Conner and M'gann chuckled, knowing that many superheroes they knew had been asked a similar question before. Marinette and Adrien blushed, not expecting Alya to come out with such a cheeky comment.

"Alya!" Marinette cried exasperatedly, "Not appropriate, thank you very much!"

"We could ask you and Nino the same thing." Adrien retorted, mirroring Alya's impish grin.

"I'm willing to try that test out!" Nino said, eyeing his bracelet, only for Wayzz to shake his head.

"We are not sex toys, Nino, don't you even think about it!" he cried, waving his hands desperately as he feared Nino would do it, though Trixx beamed.

"I wouldn't mind trying it out" he said brightly, making Wayzz look like he was about to drop out of the air in horror.

Everyone all giggled at this, filling the room with a large amount of laughter. Tim watched on, his face beaming as he took this in. They really proved themselves, proved they were now stronger now that they knew of each other's secrets, and there was a light and soft feeling all around him now. He knew he'd actually be getting a smile out of Batman, for he'd be happy to know the heroes of Paris were pulling through. He was gonna be sad to leave, but he was gonna be happy to see the heroes were now even more braver in looking after their city.

* * *

Still, many things were lying ahead for the heroes, for while the city celebrates its new mayor and many watched the footage of the heroes introducing themselves, only one person among the crowds smiled more cynically as he put a cigarette into his mouth, eyeing the new heroes.

"You'll be on your own like mice in an open field, m'lads, for the real test for you shall begin. There are plenty of sheep to tame, for I am the Shepard, the one who sees true justice, and whatever ol' Chesty sees, they will see the same." Manchester Black said softly to himself, turning from the crowd and walking into the dark alleyway, his eyes light but teeming with dark desires.

* * *

It was a more colder feeling for one person, for the wet walls of her prison left her shivering nonstop, her body tingling with bumps appearing all over her arms. Her eyes dark but full of fear, she could only beg for it end, to wake up from this nightmare. But it was one she'd never wake up from. It wasn't just the coldness of her prison that did it, but all she had to see, the many tears of the boy who she left behind, the deaths left in the wake of her departure, the fear was there for her to see. And the guilt of it ate her up from the inside, her heart shrivelling in its grip.

Her breath was caught when a pair of gloomy red eyes crawled to her from above her head. Her heart froze at the sight of the eyes as they formed a face, lacking a nose but two fangs poking from her mouth, forming a sweet but cruel smile as her dark pink hands reached out and stroked her face, her red hair thick as it produced a red web from its tip, drips of blood like colour plopping into the dark below. She hissed in delight as she faced the woman, her eyes full fascination as she looked at her up and down, sucking in the hot breaths of the woman she held captive.

"Ohhhhh my dear little Emilie. You'll be happy to know the suffering will be worth it, for the time draws near. Do not worry, for soon you'll be reunited with your precious baby boy again. That I'll make sure of." Abyss spoke softly, with a hint of mockery it in her serpent like voice, trailing her finger under the chin of Emilie Agreste, who's last thoughts on her mind now were of her baby, her son Adrien. How she hoped he would never find her, for sharing her fate in staring into these cruel eyes was one she could not handle.

* * *

_**And so ends another crossover epic. ^^ I do hope you enjoyed this crossover and loved watching Ladybug and friends meet the Young Justice team. :)**_

_**Special thanks once more goes to my co-writer, Reece Wooldridge, for helping to make this and the previous crossovers possible. He is just as responsible for these stories coming to you as I am. ^^**_

_**As for next time? There will be one last crossover to bring this whole saga to a close. Yes readers, the next story will be the end of the series. Join us for the final story as Ladybug and Cat Noir go on their biggest and greatest adventure yet as they team up with the one and only...GREEN LANTERN! It'll be a finale you can't miss so we hope to see you all there next time. :D**_


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